The Ultimatum
by NavyStrong42099
Summary: Kensi has been reassigned and Deeks is left with nothing. No answers, no contact, no partner. But when something horribly goes wrong with the mysterious Operation: White Ghost, the team is called out as reinforcements on a quest to bring their family member home safely. For a certain Detective, it is a mission for so much more. Post 5x10: "The Frozen Lake", T for safety
1. Understatement

**Author's Note:**

**Hey everybody! So, I'm back from my long hiatus…as best I can manage. For those of you who know me from my previous story, A Mission's Wake, my schedule can get pretty hectic sometimes. Anyways, I know I promised a sequel to my previous story, but I honestly can't get anything out of it. I think I ended it in an appropriate place, and I'll leave it as is. Because as much as I love the Densi fluff, it would be incredibly hard for me to write a story of simply that. I don't know, I'm weird like that. So this is my new story, based off the events of season five and anything through episode 10, which I flailed a lot during by the way. (Didn't everybody?) Anyways, thank you to all who are reading this, and I hope you enjoy. Will try to update every week :) Other than the continuation of my depiction of Sam's kids, you don't have to read my story before this unless you want to :)**

**Disclaimer: This goes for the rest of this story: I own nothing. I wouldn't be on fanfiction (however awesome it may be) if I did.**

**-C**

Deeks couldn't believe it.

Well, that was the understatement of the year.

The best way he could describe what he was feeling right now was complete and utter _heartbreak._ Him and Kensi finally had managed to conquer their ever-challenging communication skills (or lack thereof) only to have everything stalled once more by a reassignment. Deeks didn't know where, didn't know what, and most importantly, didn't know when she was coming back. And that killed him inside.

Everyday, he had the privilege of seeing her beautiful face. They both knew that the other had their backs unconditionally. A form of trust that was special, even to exemplary duos such as Callen and Sam.

Now, there was just an emptiness in his heart.

He ran a hand frustratingly through his golden locks and turned to walk out of the mission. But where could he go? Home was definitely out of the option. It still smelled like sunshine and gunpowder, and being there without Kensi would only increase his heartache.

There could be the beach. It was a place of solace for Deeks ever since he was a little boy and needed comfort from the violent home life. The memory of two weeks ago, him and Kensi surfing out on the water washed over him, and suddenly it seemed a terrible idea too.

He was just completely and utterly lost without her. He felt the beginning of tears threatening to break the brink of his baby blue eyes. And when he was in the safety of his car, he couldn't hold them back any longer. Deeks started the car, not consciously knowing where he was driving until he was parked in front of a familiar house.

He had only been there twice. Once for a team barbeque, and another during the case with Sidorov. He shuddered, wondering how a single building could hold such happy memories and such bad ones, and at the end of the day still be the happy home of the Hanna family.

Sure, him and Sam didn't have the close relationship that him and Callen had. They probably never would. But one good thing that came out of the ordeal they triumphed was a closer relationship to the senior agent.

Deeks paused, still sobbing, and still unsure of why he was here. Sam didn't know about him and Kensi. He would understand why he was so devasted because of the clearly displayed friendship and connection they had, not because of their… 'thing' that had blossomed so unexpectedly. Although it hadn't come up with Kensi yet, he was sure that she wouldn't have wanted the two older agents who were brothers to her to know just yet.

The detective was so lost in thought that when the muscular figure began to approach the car, Deeks didn't even notice. It was only when he finally spoke, did the blond surfer look up.

"How are you holding up?" Sam asked, leaning against the door of the car, resting his forearms against the rolled down window frame.

He managed a shrug, the words caught in his throat. "I think you can answer that for himself."

Sam sighed, "Why don't you come inside? We can talk about it there. G's here too."

"I don't know if that's a good idea. I just…" Deeks trailed off, catching his jaw in his hand, as if to keep his mouth from running on and on.

"Michelle just finished dinner, and there's plenty for you. Come on, man."

It seemed to do the trick for Deeks. He tentatively got out of his car and followed Sam back into the house. Sure enough, the game was on in the living room, Callen leaning patiently against the doorframe waiting for them. It smelled awfully good in here, and it was warm too. He could hear Sam's youngest, an adorable daughter named Rosaline babble on about something she learned in kindergarten that day. He thought of this same exact setting, but with Kensi beside him. Yeah, that was something sweet making it a thousand times more savory.

They followed Sam wordlessly back into the kitchen, where Michelle was just serving their two boys, James and Alex, a heaping serving of spaghetti. Seeing them eat almost as much as their father made a quick smile play across Deeks's lips. He knew Kensi would have laughed. And he would have made her laugh more by making some comment about her own eating habits that he had come to adore. It was so perfectly Kensi after all.

"Honey, why don't you and the kids watch a movie in the living room? We have some important stuff to talk about," Sam whispered, dropping a peck to her cheek.

Michelle seemed concerned, but didn't fight it. She knew that Sam would tell her sooner or later what was going on.

"Sure, sweety. Come on kids, I think _Ghostbusters _is on tonight," she gently led the children out of the kitchen and several rooms over. Just to be sure, they could hear the television grow steadily louder as the volume increased to give them more privacy.

Sam quickly served them all a generous portion of tonight's dinner, but Deeks barely looked at it. His stomach was still churning and the very thought of food made him feel ill.

"Alright, let's talk. Why would Hetty reassign Kensi? It was completely random and uncalled for. It's not like she had done anything wrong," Sam started, also setting three beers down at the table with them.

"Not in any offense to you, Deeks, but-" Callen started quickly, as if to apologize for something his partner might have insinuated. G was always careful about checking what Sam said to Deeks, especially after the Navy SEAL admitted his question of the detective's character.

"Wait, Hetty was the one to reassign her?" Deeks's hanging head shot up, completely ignoring the last comment. He automatically assumed it had been Granger…but this changed everything.

"She said so herself in the bullpen. Kensi assumed the same thing. Hetty quickly corrected her right before they left," Sam explained. "It still doesn't make any sense. Kensi didn't request a transfer, she looked way too shocked for that."

"Do you have any idea where they're going? What they're doing?" Deeks quickly asked, knocking his finger against the cold glass of the beer bottle.

"All we got was the 'need-to-know' and 'it's classified' crap," Callen growled irately.

"It might have something to do with the files she's been pouring over lately. Her and Granger have been spending unusually long periods at her desk, reading over paperwork," Sam suggested.

"Or it could be about something else completely," Callen pointedly commented, while throwing quite the dramatic glance over at Deeks. His ocean-eyes were still averting theirs, now watching the pasta he was poking with his fork.

The exchange between the partners the whole day had not gone unnoticed by Callen. His ever-observing eyes caught on to every detail. Although it had started as a joke with Sam in the morning, based on a bet made months previously, he began to believe that maybe it was true. They had finally crossed the proverbial line, although there were no official NCIS rules against dating coworkers. On the other hand, Hetty's rules were sometimes more important to follow than agency regulations.

Deeks finally caught on to the fact that Sam and Callen were both staring at him now, waiting impatiently for a confirmation they wouldn't get.

"What?"

"You know exactly what, Deeks," Callen added, growing frustrated with the detective. This was not about Hetty right now. Or NCIS. This was about their team, their friendships, and their little family that was concerned about each other. Of course it would affect how they operated at work with the answers they were looking for, but that hardly seemed important in the eyes of Callen and Sam at the moment.

"I don't think that I do," he insisted, looking them both dead in the eye. The conviction was there, but the waver in his voice said otherwise.

"Alright. Let's just say for a moment that we don't know or think anything about what you and Kensi did or did not do. Would any of it may or may not have an effect on Hetty's decision to suddenly reassign her?"

Deeks shook his head in confusion, "Okay, now you lost me for real."

Sam managed a chortle of laughter before continuing, "Look, let's focus on getting Kensi back right now. Tomorrow morning, let's talk to Hetty about completing this classified mission as a team, and then she could come home. Simple as that."

"Or we try to find out where she is on our own. Then go after her ourselves," Callen suggested.

The blond shook his head vigorously. "Hetty's not going to send us after Kensi, even if we backed it up with as much reason as there possibly is to find. Because right now, Hetty probably doesn't want us near each other, which doesn't answer the questions you two have, by the way. But she won't let us, end of story."

Deeks never felt so helpless before, especially when it came to Kensi.

"Okay, then let's just say for a second that we managed to find where she was. Without Hetty's permission, we could bring her home," Callen added.

"Like Romania," Sam commented.

"Exactly."

"Then it's definitely out of the question. Hetty wasn't technically part of NCIS when she went dark. This is a classified mission sanctioned by the US government. If we were to track them down, we would not only risk American lives, but Kensi's as well."

"So what, are you saying that there's nothing we can do?" Callen inquired in disbelief and frustration.

"Deeks?" Sam begged for his input.

The detective took a deep breath, his thoughts running a mile a minute. If the roles were reversed, and Kensi were in his position, he knew what she would do. It's no easy thing, but to keep the person he loved safe and guaranteed a flight home as soon as possible, was to leave her to get the job done.

"I agree with Sam. I hate it, but there's nothing to do without endangering her. And the most important thing right now is for Kensi to get home quickly and safely. This is my fault, and this is how we're going to fix it unless a better plan comes up," Deeks concluded.

"If that's what you think is best, then I'll go along with it. You know her better than anybody, after all," Callen finished, pushing the empty plate away from him. "I have to go home, think about some choice words I'm going to say to Hetty tomorrow morning."

"Just make sure that these choice words aren't your last, G," Sam warned light-heartedly. He seemed much calmer than he actually was about Kensi's sudden departure.

"Night."

"See you," Deeks bid farewell, and managed to shove a forkful of spaghetti into his mouth. Man it was good, but his stomach was still churning uncomfortably. The whole of idea of not being in touch with Kensi was just making her sick.

"Can you be honest with me for one minute?" Sam asked out of nowhere.

"It depends."

"Pretend for a second that we're not talking about work. That it's just two friends chatting. Are you and Kensi…?" Sam left the question hanging.

Deeks took another swig of his beer before answering. "Since I don't know exactly what you're asking, I can't really answer it. But I'd be lying if I said no. Thanks for the dinner, Sam."

He was quickly out the door, not really waiting to say good night and all of that. The only person he wanted to say goodnight to right now was on plane headed to any destination in the world, and there was nothing in the world Deeks could do about it. But there was also nothing in the world that was going to stop him from bringing her home.

**Teaser for next chapter:**

_ "Mr. Deeks, Mr. Callen, and Mr. Hanna. I have some disturbing news," Hetty stalked into the bullpen one Tuesday morning. The three and her had barely spoken since Kensi's reassignment, which was almost a month ago._

_ "SECNAV got a call from Assistant Director Granger this morning. They've lost contact with Ms. Blye."_


	2. Lost

**Author's Note:  
Hey all! I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Guys, honestly, I'm completely blown away by the response this has gotten. So I thank you all for the 78 follows and 15 reviews...it's amazing :) Special shout outs to moonserenity089, blue dogs rock, SuperDensi427 (especially for the idea), classof7teen, bookdiva, Clementine20, bangelluvforever, jimmer, marteeey, 95sparky95, Khept, Twisted Musalih, BlueTigress, and the guests that reviewed :D Without further ado, here is the next chapter.  
-C**

**P.S.- Make sure you read the note at the end.**

Deeks dropped his messenger bag right in front of the door, too weak to carry it anymore. The silence and darkness of his apartment made his knees turn to jelly. Kensi and him were supposed to be here right now, cuddled on the couch watching some God-awful horror movie from the 80s. Instead, he was met with the cold calamity and a lingering scent of sunshine and gunpowder.  
He settled on the couch, tucking the cat pillow behind his head. Deeks pulled out his phone, and held it for a moment. It was a long shot, but there was no harm in trying.  
_Well,_ he thought, _besides the crushing disappointment it would probably bring._  
He texted, **I miss you already, Fern. Stay safe.**  
Deeks threw the phone down on the coffee table, waiting to hear the buzzing that the text message would bring.  
It was so unfair. He must have told himself that a thousand times over in the past hour, but it never seemed to cut it. If there was blame to be had, it should have been on him. He was the one that messed up at the hotel. He was the one to mistrust Thappa. Anything that could have gone wrong today did, and it was all on him. And Kensi was getting the penalty.  
Especially coming from Hetty, it pissed him off more than anything. They did so much for the operations manager. Granted, it was reciprocated. But as Callen brought up earlier; Romania. They resigned, G was thrown into the head of danger, and they almost caused a huge international incident. In speaking of international incidents, there was the whole operation against the Russian consulate to save Hetty's job. Shouldn't that count for something!? Shouldn't she remember these things before making such dramatic personnel changes, especially to their team?  
However, Hetty also did a lot for them. She got him out of the LAPD after all. No matter how much he loved that job, NCIS was where he belonged. Hetty was also the reason why Kensi and he even became partners. Even with of all of that, Deeks fumed raged toward the woman.  
He was so lost in thought, he almost missed the unmistakable sound of his phone vibrating. His heart lurched into his throat and made a fierce dive for the phone… only to sink again when he realized it was Callen who texted him.  
**I'm talking to Hetty tomorrow. -C  
Let me. -D  
That's not a good idea. -C  
I need to. -D  
Deeks... -C  
What? -D  
I still think it's a bad idea. -C  
Yeah. Maybe. -D  
See you tomorrow. -C  
Night. -D**  
He put the phone down in extreme disappointment. No word from Kensi yet. And there probably wouldn't be. Deeks folded his hands over his chest, the button up shirt still choking him. He stated at the ceiling intently, as if it were going to change color. His thoughts kept on running, preventing sleep. Late into the early hours of the morning, however, the day's events finally caught up with him.

Deeks woke up the next morning slightly disoriented. Suddenly, the events of the past day came flooding back, accompanied with the rush of anger. He punched a pillow irately, but it didn't make him feel any better. He felt the strong urge to shoot something, but instead forced himself into the shower. Nothing was going to be solved if he wasted time wallowing over it. Kensi needed his help.

He quickly showered and changed into clean clothes. Jeans, a green v-neck, and work boots. Nothing special, even though he knew Kensi would have liked it. Deeks let Monty out briefly to do his business, scratched the mutt behind the ear, and apologized for no morning walk. The minutes were ticking by, and he already woke up later than he would have liked.

Every traffic law was broken on his way to the ops center. Granted, it had been done not even the night before. If anybody pulled him over, Deeks would have just flashed his badge and been on his way. He was on a mission, and nothing was going to hinder it.

Walking into the bullpen was…strange on that particular morning. No phones were ringing, the computers off, and nobody was to be seen. Even the teacups lingering on Hetty's desk had gone cold. He dropped the messenger back by his chair, and cautiously slinked over towards Kensi's desk, as if he were invading her personal space or something. Deeks trailed his fingers over the smooth surface before moving onto the firing range.

God, he missed her.

He fired round after round after round into the dummy. It felt good, putting his rage into each and every single time he pulled that trigger. Deeks didn't think he had ever been so irate before in his entire life. And he knew it was bad when he was acting _calmly. _Suddenly, a memory came washing over him of barely two years back.

_He was in the front seat of his car, watching Bates intently. Deeks couldn't believe it. The lieutenant could have been a traitor? Bates was a hard-ass, and critical at best, but he never thought that the guy had it in him. Out of nowhere, the backdoor of the car was flung open, and Kensi was just sitting in his back seat. Her mismatched eyes were boring into the back of his skull._

_ Shyly, just to shake the gaze for even a second, he looked down and began to say, "Anybody ever tell you how cute you are when you're homicidally angry?"_

_ "I'm not angry. In fact, I could slit your jugular vein eleven different ways from where I'm sitting and I wouldn't lose my temper."_

Suddenly, Deeks understood just how irate she had been.

"What did that poor man ever do to you, Mr. Deeks?" A voice broke through the detective's running thoughts.

He slowly turned, reloading his gun and setting it down on the ledge behind him, Indeed, the target was ripped to shreds from the many rounds that had penetrated it. This was not how he wanted to talk to Hetty. Deeks knew he needed a few minutes to clear his head before speaking with her.

"It's not the target I have a problem with."

"Ah."

Deeks flexed and clenched his hands while choosing his next words carefully. "I just want to know why, Hetty."

"You're going to have to be more specific."

"Why did you reassign Kensi?" Deeks pressed, his voice rising ever so slightly.

Hetty paused, taking a deep breath, "Ms. Blye has the qualifications for a mission that will apprehend a dangerous terrorist. She-"

"You're avoiding my question," He interrupted. Hetty was stalling from addressing the real issue. Although it was something Deeks wasn't interested in jumping head-first with, her pending answer was just irritating him.

She countered, "Then ask the right question."

"If you had a problem with Kensi and I having a personal life, then why send her halfway across the world when you had the choice to send me back to the LAPD? Why would you suddenly have such an issue when I could've sworn months ago you nearly encouraged it with your 'sunshine and gunpowder' note?"

"I select the members of my team wisely, Mr. Deeks. They are nothing but the very best, and every person has important qualities to contribute. I thought that you and Ms. Blye could handle the situation in a professional matter. You're actions yesterday proved me wrong," Hetty replied in a low voice.

"And what, there's no such things as second chances!?" Deeks punched the side paneling of the ally for the shooting range. "We could have worked something out! We were about to- before the next thing she knew, she was completely uprooted!"

"I suggest you lower your voice, Mr. Deeks. Or Ms. Blye will not be the only one reassigned. Take the day, Detective."

Deeks, infuriated, grabbed his gun and stormed out of the mission.

* * *

Twenty-four hours with Kensi missing had turned into forty eight. Then to a week. And three more before like any normal Tuesday morning, Sam, Callen, and Deeks were hard at work at their desks. Cases had been few, as if some invisiable force wanted them to have to focus on the empty desk in their midst.

Deeks and Hetty had barely spoken since the argument in the firing range. His initial fury had dissipated, but the sadness was still steady. He missed her so much. More than he could ever describe. There was no news. Kensi never did respond to his text, most likely because she didn't have her phone anymore. Occasionally Hetty would receive reports from the ongoing mission, but of course she didn't let the team read it. Callen would always approach her with raised eyebrows, waiting for an update. Her response never varied from, "Nobody died yet."

This Tuesday was different though. Every week, their operations manager would be poring over the report, like clockwork. At least she still cared about what happened to Kensi. She wore a troubled expression on her face, and the three men definitely noticed. They observed even more when Hetty was stuck on the phone with various people for the next hour and a half.

With each passing second, Deeks's heart was sinking lower and lower. This couldn't be good.

Hetty finally approached them, with a pained expression wearing her features down.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Callen immediately questioned.

"The weekly report came in. Granger has requested that the three of you pack your bags and get on the next flight to Afghanistan; they've lost contact with Ms. Blye."

**Hey guys- a couple things I just wanted to say. I'm not 100% satisfied with this chapter. I don't know…I've gone back a dozen times and still can't find what's 'wrong' with it. So sorry if this is a disappointment. Also, the dates are a little different than from the show. I'm pretending that all of the events happened as they did, except a few weeks earlier so it can fit into my timeline. Otherwise, it would have been Christmas already in the story. Thanks guys :)**

**Teaser for next chapter:**

_ "Deeks…you're plan? It isn't going to be easy. This is extremely dangerous," Callen warned. His blue eyes were serious in the dim glow of the tent._

_ "I don't care. This is Kensi we're talking about. You know I can do this," Deeks insisted._

_ Sam put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, Deeks. I fully respect that you're a capable operator. You've seen things that most people, even soldiers, won't see in a lifetime. But this is different. We've dealt with terrorists before, but this is an army of them…hunting one person, and you want to go in alone to get her out." _


	3. Departure

**Author's Note:**

**Hey everybody! I honestly still can't believe the response the story has been getting only after the second chapter! Some reviews were paragraphs long, which really made my day :) I'll have a note at the end about some of the comments I've been getting, but for now, on with the story! And I can't believe I forgot to mention this, but my pen name, NavyStrong42099, is dedicated to my brother :)**

**-C**

Deeks had gotten over the initial shock of Kensi being reported as MIA. A thousand terrible thoughts had run through his head before he was able to shake himself from it. This was Kensi. She knew how to take care of herself. But even then, he was on a mission to bring her back home, and nothing was going to stop him from succeeding.

They had left the bullpen in a hurry, anxious to catch the plane that would take them to Afghanistan. Sam promised to pick them up in fifteen after they had packed a bag with some extra clothes. Deeks was aware that once they arrived, the team would be given gear, but Sam knew what he was talking about. The ex-Navy SEAL promised that he would pick him and Callen up at noon, which left ten minutes for packing.

Hetty had said that they would be briefed on the plane about the mission Kensi was currently working with Granger. Deeks was itching to know what assignment was so important that even they would be kept out of the loop. Before he could leave, their operations manager had pulled him aside.

_"I advise you to, as they say, get your head in the game, Mr. Deeks," Hetty had warned with a wagging finger._

_ "You don't have to worry about me," Deeks insisted coldly, beginning to turn away._

_ "I am concerned about all my agents."_

_ "Clearly not about Kensi, or you wouldn't have sent her on this mission."_

_ She sighed, as if tired of dealing with a stubborn child. "Mr. Deeks, I am aware that this change greatly impacted the both of you. As I told you before, this terrorist must be apprehended and has the potential of becoming another Bin Laden. Bring her home, and we'll see about reinstating you as partners. This was never to hurt either of you, Mr. Deeks."_

_ Deeks took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. So there was hope when they returned. Deciding that there was no point in arguing with the woman anymore, he replied, "Thank you, Hetty."_

He wouldn't let Kensi down. They would take down this terrorist as if it was any other case and then they would both be home. Deeks retrieved a light-weight gray duffle bag from his closet and stuffed a few t-shirts into it, along with some toiletries. Jeans weren't necessary since he would be given the proper gear, but he packed a pair anyways. For the ride home.

Before he let his rambling mind wander any further, Deeks walked Monty to the old lady who lived next door. On long undercover assignments, she would watch the lovable mutt for him. He knocked on the door, patiently awaiting the arrival of the widow, Mrs. Jane.

Sure enough, the old woman came shuffling to the door, smiling widely.

"Marty! What a pleasure!" She exclaimed, bringing the Detective into an awkward embrace.

"Mrs. Jane, I'm afraid I'm going to be away again for a long time. Monty here would love some company while I'm gone," he explained.

"Aw, sure thing. Off to save the world again, eh?" she nudged him playfully, smiling through her teeth as her oval glassed slid down the bridge of her nose.

"Something like that," he grinned. Mrs. Jane had known that he was a police officer since he moved in. They had become close friends because her late husband and her always used to volunteer at the homeless shelter too.

"Would you like some tea? I just finished brewing a pot of your favorite," she enticed, grabbing Monty's leash from his hand.

"No thank you. In fact, my ride's already here. Good-bye Mrs. Jane, and thank you!"

Deeks trotted down the steps to Sam's awaiting Charger. It was time to get moving, because they had a job to do. An obligation to their teammate, their friend, _his _something more. Callen had even scooted to the back seat for him. As soon as Deeks shut the door, Sam began driving off.

"Anything I should know before we hit the desert?" he inquired seriously. This was unlike any mission they had ever done before.

"We've been out this way before," Callen reminded him.

"Not like this. Not with so much at stake and for so long."

"I got a text from Hetty. We're headed to a small base reserved for special operations where they were working from. It's called Point Eaglestrike. I've only heard about it, never been. You can take care of yourself Deeks, but keep your head down and follow the instructions the Marines give you. They're nothing but the best and know what they're doing."

Deeks nodded in confirmation. The rest of the ride was completed in utter silence, as if they were all mentally preparing themselves for the mission. It would be grueling for sure.

Sam got them to Coronado in record time, where he parked the Charger in a reserved spot by the airstrip. Deeks knew that the Navy SEAL wouldn't be seeing his beloved car for some time to come. The C-15 plane was just beginning to fire up when they marched up through the back compartment and managed to get comfortable on the benches lining the sides.

They went through the motions of take-off when a familiar face emerged from the shadows. Deeks couldn't believe it. He was supposedly thousands of miles away in Afghanistan working this mission that was so important.

"Granger?" Sam questioned in disbelief.

He looked tired. The assistant director had dark rings under his eyes and a resigned expression lining his features. There was something else in his dark orbs as well…something that resembled hopelessness.

"Sit down, we have a lot to cover by the time this plane lands. We get straight to business, gentlemen," he began, pulling out a hefty file.

"Then why aren't you there right now?" Callen interrogated with an angered expression.

"Calm down Agent Callen. They sent me stateside for a week to recover from a broken wrist," he shrugged his shoulder in order to move the coat away. Sure enough, his arm was encased in a sling. This didn't even sound like Granger. Something was definitely up.

He seemed to be fine with this answer, so Callen acknowledged for him to continue.

"Welcome to Operation White Ghost. It's going to be one hell of a ride."

**End Note:**

**Hope you guys enjoyed! Just a quick thing or two. Coronado is a base in San Diego where the Navy SEALS train, for those of who didn't know. Also, some of the reviews were commenting on the conversation between Hetty and Deeks. I'm aware that some of you thought it was a bit out of character for both of them, but hey, I'm experimenting. This interaction is important for later on too. Another thing, I know that the 'teaser' from last chapter wasn't in this one…this was shorter than planned. I'm typing this in the car on my way home from visiting family, so I'm kinda getting a little car sick :/ I'll write more tonight and see if I can get it up by today or tomorrow :) You guys are the best!**


	4. Trust

**Author's Note:**

**So...there's quite an interesting story behind this chapter. I started writing it in the ER Sunday night because my leg was thought to be fractured as a result of a soccer game. It took them four hours to see me and I couldn't focus on my schoolwork :P No worries- no fracture, but I am on crutches for a week, but still feel like shit. Anyways- on with this chapter!**

**-C**

* * *

**One Month Previously**

"Operation White Ghost?" Kensi questioned Granger, yanking the file out of the assistant director's hands. She was in a terrible mood and had a aching feeling of homesickness already, even though the plane had just taken off. Not to mention there was a certain blond boyfriend of her's that she longed to see.

"Highly classified mission based out of Point Eaglestrike," Granger let on, knowing that Kensi would recognize the name of the base. Her face visibly paled a little once hearing this. Although she had never been, there were enough bad things to connect to it.

"Afghanistan," Kensi echoed absentminded. She opened up the file to glance over the first page while Granger spoke over the roar of the engine turbines.

"White Ghost refers to a terrorist that we should fear the most- one of our own. He was born in the States and had been eluding us for years. Six months ago a team in New York came close to catching him. He disappeared. Recent intel has it that he is currently in Afghanistan and planning something big. He's hit all sorts of targets from hotels sponsoring international peace talks to U.S. consulates in foreign countries."

Kensi flipped through a couple of pages, finding exactly what Granger was telling her and some pictures of the damages. This guy was definitely dangerous.

"Does he run his own terrorist network?" Kensi inquired, meeting the eyes of the assistant director sitting next to her.

"Unfortunately, yes, and it's becoming more and more influential. They already have a large support group all around the world. We think he's come to Afghanistan to eliminate the President at peace conference that's happening two weeks from now."

"If we already suspect it, then why not cancel it, or move the meeting to the U.S.?"

He sighed, "If we want to extract all our troops from Afghanistan, this conference needs to happen."

"So our goal is to eliminate the White Ghost before two weeks is up."

"Exactly."

Kensi flipped through the pages once more before realizing that something was missing, "where's the photograph of the suspect?"

"That's the problem, Agent Blye. We don't have one."

"What?" She commented incredulously.

"We can never get a picture of this guy. Not even from his school days. There's no trace of the White Ghost."

Kensi groaned inwardly, handing the file back to Granger. She wouldn't be seeing Deeks again for a long time.

* * *

"We all saw the news, Air Force One was blown up after the president landed, but he wasn't injured. So that wasn't our terrorist's target," Callen observed once Granger had finished the briefing. "What made you stay?"

"The White Ghost isn't that sloppy. No, he has something else planned. Agent Blye believed that we had a possible suspect for the man when we lost contact with her out in the field, so we know that he's still in Afghanistan."

"So where is, Kensi? Where was she last seen?" Deeks questioned with a little too much force.

Granger glared at the detective, "I don't know, Deeks. I haven't been there lately."

"Well, you should have been," he growled, leaning back with crossed arms.

Grange was about to reply when Sam cut him off with a hand to Deeks's shoulder. "Relax, man. We'll get her back soon."

The surfer's expression didn't relax, but Granger continued on. "Get some sleep while you can. Once the flight lands, we're thrown straight into action gentlemen."

Their assistant director disappeared, shadowed by two heavily armed servicemen. Deeks found himself flexing and unflexing his hands again, wondering how they would feel after punching the man in the jaw. He managed to keep his temper in check, though. This wouldn't help Kensi, and he needed to be on top of his game for this.

"I still can't believe he left her there," Deeks murmured, tapping his foot as if it would hurry the plane in getting there.

"They have medical care at the bases, but he is the assistant director of our agency. I'm surprised SECNAV even let him go out into the field like this," Sam explained.

"Still doesn't excuse it," Callen agreed. "But he is right. Get some sleep."

Deeks tucked his head back against the netting jangling behind him. As turbulence shook the plane once more, he found himself falling into a deep slumber anyways.

_I'm coming to get you, Kens._

* * *

**Point Eaglestrike, Afghanistan**

**3:30 P.M.**

No matter how hard Deeks tried to put on a brave face in front of all these badass marines he was now surrounded by, he couldn't suppress a huge yawn. The lack of sleep he had been getting over the past four weeks combined with the jet lag wasn't exactly keeping him awake. But the drive to find Kensi was putting one foot in front of another.

He collapsed into a folded chair around a card table underneath one of the tents. The sun was high in the sky, and the heat almost insufferable. Deeks was now fully equipped with cargo pants tucked into work boots and a black t-shirt. It seemed to be what everybody was wearing around the base.

Point Eaglestrike was not how Deeks imagined the military outposts in Afghanistan to look like, no matter how classified. It was surrounded by an eight foot high concrete wall. Inside, it was about twice the size of the mission. A single level building ran along the entire eastern wall where the barracks and showers were. Humvees were parked on the opposite side, one was just pulling in when they walked past. And finally, where they were now, was in one of the two operational tents hugging the north wall.

"The lieutenant colonel will be with you shortly, sir," the marine guiding them informed. He exited just as quickly and with the stone-hardened expression he kept the entire time.

Granger readjusted his sling while Callen glared pointedly at him. Deeks was tapping his fingers anxiously. What was taking this so called leader so long? He should have been meeting them, not this other marine. He was about to crawl out of his skin with anxiety when finally, the lieutenant coolonel entered.

Correction, _she _took a long time to arrive. Deeks was surprised that the lieutenant commander was a woman, but he didn't know why. He respected that women were just as capable as men in this line of work. Kensi was a perfect example of this.

"Lieutenant Colonel Mallory Rider. We're kind informal here, so call me what you want. You must be Agents Hanna, Callen, and Deeks. Good to see you again, Granger," Mallory introduced.

Her long brown-red hair was pulled into a high pony-tail, her piercing gray eyes betraying the kindness in her voice. Although she looked more like a small-time actress than a marine, her muscles were clearly defined.

Sam shook her hand first, "What's the situation here?"

"Right to business. You must be an ex-service member. I'm gonna guess Navy."

He nodded the confirmation, clearly pleased that his title of a Navy SEAL that he was so proud of was acknowledged.

"I'm jumping to the part where I know that the three of you are most anxious to hear about. We lost contact with Kensi eighteen hours ago. We were going after a lead when our group was attacked and everybody was separated. To hunt down the rest of us, they sealed off the city we were in, Gardēz. Kensi and two other marines are still in there, unable to escape, and we are unable to get in. The eight marines who tried…" Rider took a moment, tumbling over her words, "…were killed on sight."

Deeks got an awful sinking feeling in his stomach. If they caught Kensi, she would likely be killed as well. Eighteen hours in a limited area already wasn't looking good.

_She's Kensi. She's fine, you're gonna be able to get her out, _He shook his doubtful thoughts away. Their love story wasn't finished being written yet. They would be home soon.

"So what's the plan here?" Sam inquired, taking a swig of water from one of the bottles left on the card table.

Mallory joined them by sitting, putting her boots up on the corner of the table. Deeks had met many high ranking officers in his time at NCIS, but none were quite like her.

"I was just scouting the area, which is why I was late. It doesn't look optimistic. We're thinking that going tactical might be the best. Attack the perimeter and send in a helicopter to fight from the inside out."

"And stealth is out of the option?" Callen asked.

Mallory shrugged, "it's the way we tried when our eight men were killed. And trust me, they were some of the best of my men. No point in trying it again."

"What about a diversion?" Deeks spoke up. "You distract them and we manage to find a way in."

The marine smiled sarcastically, as if she were about to explain the obvious. Deeks knew that look all too well from his first days at NCIS. "I don't think you understand. Gardēz is one of the largest city in Afghanistan with a population of over a hundred thousand. Nobody is on our side. The White Ghost and about every other terrorist network out here is hunting for any marines inside that city. A diversion wouldn't put a dent in their defense."

Deeks was getting frustrated. Sure, he was way out of his element here, but Rider seemed more than a little stubborn.

"Then go in under a cloak again, but this time lighter," he threw his arms up, wanting to do _something_, _anything _that would get her home safe.

"What do you want me to do, send in a four or five man team that will all be killed no matter how elite they are?" Mallory challenged, her eyes flashing dangerously, although her appearance seemed calm and reserved.

"What about a three man team?" Sam raised his eyebrow with his arms crossed. Deeks couldn't help but smile inwardly at his interjection. If Mallory Rider didn't respect him, then she sure as hell would respect a fellow serviceman.

"Are you talking about the three of you?" Keaton repeated, almost incredulously.

"We've dealt with this kind of threat before," Callen insisted. "This is our agent and most importantly our friend."

"Which is why specifically you should _not _be going in, Agent Callen," Granger barked.

"You brought us here for a reason, right!? We may not be marines, but we know how to operate," Deeks argued, feeling that the conversation would be growing more heated by the second.

"This is different. Look, I worked with NCIS in Washington for a year when I was on medical leave. I know that you guys can operate. But, you don't have to deal with these terrorists everyday. They're not your drug dealers or thieves," Mallory calmly reasoned. Deeks knew that she was trying to do what was best for her men and their team, but too bad he cared about Kensi more than anything else in the world. He realized that the rational side of his brain was telling him that Mallory was right. But another small part was also saying that they could do this.

"We've taken down some of the most notorious terrorists in the world. Hassad Al-Jahiri, Marcel Janvier, Isaak Sidorov," Sam also protested.

That seemed to catch Mallory's attention. "Did you just say Isaak Sidorov?"

Deeks and Sam both nodded, having a glint of sadness in their eyes. Mallory continued, "I had heard that he was apprehended, but that was you guys? Alright. Tell me your plan."

"Lieutenant, I don't believe-" Granger started.

Mallory visiously cut him off. "Save it. _Your_ brilliant plan got eight of my men's head on pikes!" she banged her fist on the table, shaking it. "I want to hear this." She turned to face Sam, as everybody's eyes were on him at the moment.

Surprisingly, he gestured over to Deeks. "He has a good plan. So let's hear him out."

He was more grateful in that moment than Deeks could ever describe. Sam was handing him the reigns to a charging chariot when he didn't even know the course. The detective took a deep breath and began doing what he did best. Talking.

* * *

They had finally finished the briefing an hour later, going over every inch of the plan. It would start as soon as the sun went down. Deeks found himself in the barracks, strapping on the protective vest, which was a lot heavier than what he was used to.

Without warning, Sam came up from behind, handing Deeks an extra combat knife. "Here, this is a lot stronger than the one Kensi gave you."

He looked at the blade for a moment before gently pushing it away. "I already have a good knife, but thanks."

Sam sighed. "You know I think that this plan is completely and utterly dangerous and wouldn't recommend it under any circumstances?"

Deeks managed a dark laugh, "then why did you agree to it."

The Navy SEAL put a hand on his shoulder. "Because I trust you, man." Checking his watch, Sam continued, "we gotta move. The sun's setting."

**I hope you all enjoyed this! Just a throwback thing, Hassad was the terrorist from the episode "Fame", where Deeks and Kensi make their debut as partners :) I hope you enjoyed my very own character, Mallory Rider. I know a little about military operations, but I expanded my own creative rights here so sorry if anything is wrong. Also, Gardēz is a real place. I'm just gonna have fun with it once they enter the city :) Alright, enough of my babbling. Thanks again for all of the reviews!**


	5. Ambush

**Author's Note:**

**Hey everybody! So, correction from last chapter. It's Lieutenant ****Colonel**** Mallory Rider, not lieutenant commander, as this is a Navy rank, not a Marine rank. Sorry! I already edited it for those of you who read it before I did :) Anyways, on with the next chapter! **

**-C**

"Simple reconnaissance mission, Kensi. I'm sure you can handle it," Lieutenant Colonel Mallory Rider joked, propping her feet up on the card table.

She scoffed in response, folding her poker cards. It was a really bad hand, and it was clear that the marine was winning by the amount she was betting. Over the past month, Mallory had been her only friend here really. The other men were just that- comrades. Kensi felt herself unable to identify with any of them. But the lieutenant had proved to be something that made this place a little bit better, and even the most stone-faced soldiers seemed to relax around her.

"Nah, it won't be a problem," Kensi answered as Mallory collected the massive amount of poker chips from the center of the table. Granger tapped his cheek in frustration, as he had lost the most money.

"I figured. But leave the team picking to me," she glanced up with her piercing gray eyes.

Kensi shrugged nonchalantly. She didn't know a whole lot about the men here past their names except for a select few. Mallory was more familiar with them anyways.

"If you two think I've won enough of your money, we should get moving," Mallory concluded, rising to her feet and stretching her arms above her head.

Although Kensi was exhausted, she would never let anybody be aware of it. Getting only four hours of sleep a night (if she was lucky) and being in constant danger left a heavy weight of weariness that followed her.

They all left the operational tent and headed outside, where an intense football game was taking place. Although Mallory and Kensi, being the only two females on base, often amused themselves by watching and sometimes participating, the brunette found herself staring towards the east, where home was. Once again, for maybe the millionth time since she arrived, Kensi felt a heart ache that only seeing a certain detective could cure.

"They're idiots," Mallory remarked about the game going on. Shaking herself out of the stupor, Kensi realized that she just completely missed something.

"Yeah," she agreed with a half-hearted laugh and a smile.

Her friend raised an eyebrow, seeing straight through the lie. Deeks was among the things that Kensi didn't talk about with Mallory. For some reason, Kensi felt as if that was crossing some proverbial line. That this place should never be associated with Deeks.

"Go grab your gear, I got the guys," the lieutenant colonel clapped a hand on her shoulder and then marched right into the middle of the fray as if she owned the place. Well, that was sort of true. Rider was the highest ranking officer here.

Kensi made her way over to the broken down truck that served as their ammunitions department. A marine with a sever concussion manned it, and was friendly enough. He, Kyle Paulson, was one of the few Kensi enjoyed making a conversation with.

"What do you have for me, Kyle?" she questioned, a large blade left on top of box catching her eye.

Kyle, catching her line of sight, chuckled and answered, "Down girl, not for you. Here's the regulars," he handed her a vest, helmet, and a semi-automatic weapon. "I'll be right back, I gotta get you your binoculars."

She set the helmet down on the ground while pulling the vest up and over her head, covering the long-sleeve black shirt. Kensi was just finishing tying her hair up into a high ponytail when she felt a presence behind her. Fearing who it was, she whipped around to see the man the despised most on base.

"Looks like we're on the same team, princess," Daniel Sigara commented, folding his arms over his chest. He had a slick smile planted on that wide face of his, obsidian eyes glinting dangerously.

"Don't call me that," Kensi snapped, not bothering the veil the threat in her voice.

He chuckled, "It's what you are. You don't belong here on the front lines. Though I will admit…" Daniel winked at her, "you're not too sore on the eyes."

She snarled, "get away from me."

"Sorry, princess, I'm getting you in and out of Gardēz today," Daniel licked his lips, taking a step closer to her. He was almost touching Kensi now, and she could smell his hot breath when he talked. It made her feel sick to her stomach. "You're stuck with me."

"I told you not to call me that," Kensi coldly repeated, then turned away. Daniel seemed to lose interest, so he stalked away. She couldn't help but sigh a breath of relief. The guy gave her the creeps and somehow made her miss Deeks even more. Kensi knew that if he were here, Daniel Sigara would be on the ground, bleeding, in two seconds flat.

"I got your binoculars. Just be careful with the zoom, it's a little sensitive," Kyle said, handing her the device. Kensi's mind was still wandering, so she simply nodded her thanks and headed for the waiting vehicle.

* * *

Several hours had passed since the humvee dropped them off, and the team of six marines plus her were roaming the streets together, looking to find Sigara's contact. The reason Mallory sent him with them is that he was familiar with Gardēz and had some 'friends' here that would help the team locate where the White Ghost was.

Upon reaching the city, they were forced to strip of their bulletproof vests and semi-automatics to appear less suspicious. All Kensi carried now was her SIG, extra ammunition, and of course a knife.

The other members of the team included Quinn Keelson, Spencer Yates, Oliver Davis, Harold "Harry" Frayne, Jake Newman, and finally, Daniel Sigara. Kensi was somewhat friends with Quinn and Spencer, the others she knew from passing.

After hours of treading through the crowded streets, they finally turned down an alley where a teenager stood, pacing back and forth. Kensi didn't get a good look at him before Sigara went to go talk to him.

"Take watch with me?" Spencer inquired, gesturing towards the entrance back to the street.

She nodded and followed him out, glad to be away from Daniel for a while. They didn't talk for some time, turning to check to even see if their comrades were still there. Kensi's eyes scanned the roofs, trying to not look conspicuous.

"You know what's for dinner tonight?" Spencer asked out of nowhere.

Kensi couldn't help but laugh, "we're on a dangerous mission, and you're thinking about food?"

He shrugged, "I mean, this is an easy in and out and I want to get back before it's all gone. We always miss the good stuff."

"I miss Chinese takeout," Kensi remarked blissfully, staring off past the merchants and into the distance, now really missing Deeks.

Now Spencer was the one laughing at her, "Chinese takeout, seriously?"

"It wasn't _jut _Chinese takeout. My partner and I know a really good place back home," she recalled, willing to trade anything for a night with fast food and a movie with Deeks on her couch.

"Well, I never-" Spencer was suddenly cut off by an explosion from the fruit cart in the street. The blast caused an insufferable ringing in Kensi's ears, and confusion was making her mind sluggish.

Screams exploded from the street, muffled because of the ringing. Spencer was telling her something, but she never got the message. He charged into the chaos, when suddenly his body collapsed in a heap. Kensi just saw the sniper that took Spencer out in time when she dodged it. The bullet richocheted off way too close for comfort, but she wasn't focused on it.

"Spencer!" she screamed, now assuming to alert the others. But they didn't come to her. As more shots pounded through the vicinity and not knowing what to do, Kensi took off with the crowd. She hoped to find the fellow marines, but it wasn't looking promising. There was more dust everywhere. Other explosions cut through the previously peaceful air of the marketplace.

Kensi heard a couple of shouts coming from behind. Her hearing now fine, she took off sprinting down another ally…to only come face to face with three armed men and loaded weapons pointed at her head.

A single shot was fired.

**More of a filler chapter to see where Kensi's at…or was…:P Just kidding, you'll find out what happens next chapter, I promise. Hope you enjoyed!**


	6. Separation

**Author's Note:**

**Hey everyone! Guys- the response on this is honestly what's making me update so fast. If anybody followed my previous fic, sometimes it took a really long time in between chapters. And good news- I should be off crutches in a few days! YAY! Okay, moving on. Enjoy!**

**-C**

"Any pre-game cheer for us, coach?" Deeks questioned, removing his semi-automatic and handing it to a marine behind him.

Callen smirked for a moment before answering, "If we get separated, rendezvous back here in exactly twelve hours. We're not sure what we're gonna come across in there, so keep your guard up."

"This is your plan, Deeks. And it's a good one. Keep your head up," Sam smacked him playfully on the back. The detective couldn't help but swallow. He felt so out of hi element right now, he felt as though he was going to be sick.

_Do it for Kensi. Come on, Deeks. _

With a new-found confidence, he grinned. "Let's go catch some bad guys."

"Hold up just a second. Are you sure that this farmer will play along?" Callen double checked with Lieutenant Colonel Rider. The marine was perched behind them, seeing the team off into Gardēz.

"Sergeant Major Daniel Sigara has contacts all over the city, including this man. Although Sigara is currently trapped in Gardēz as well, the farmer trusts us and has helped before."

Deeks could only nod, going over the plan once more in his head. Mallory was right earlier, they were way out of their comfort zone here. They would be sneaking into a highly guarded city filled with terrorists who had the audacity and coldness to spear marines' heads with pikes. Nobody was going to be on their side. And worse yet, they would be operating without communications unless there was an absolute emergency where a tactical team would be called in.

Mallory had warned them that a few times they had been compromised because the White Ghost managed to pick up on their radio frequencies, no matter how high-tech they were. Callen, Sam, and Deeks were all equipped with watches that, when turned on, would emit a frequency signaling that a tact team was needed. Although they had this option, nobody was inclined to use it. It could not only cause an international incident, but the lives of many more soldiers.

"Let's move out," Sam broke the eerie silence that had settled over them.

With an encouraging nod from the team leader, Deeks led the way. The three men crawled over the ridge from where they were hiding and onto the farmland surrounding the city. He made a mental check of all his weapons as they sprinted to the nearest home. Well, the house that was one story and made up of dried clay with holes for windows.

Kensi's knife, his SIG, extra ammo, and a back-up gun in an ankle holster. All checked off.

Deeks felt the burn in his knees from crouching and sprinting, but it hardly affected him. The three operatives took a rest up against the house, breathing quietly. Just as Mallory promised, a covered wagon was hitched up with two mules behind the adobe. Nodding, Deeks made a run for it, and jumped in the back.

Followed by Sam and Callen, he swept the small area with his eyes. There were barrels and crates of goods, while animal skins hung on hooks or lay on top of the boxes. In the middle of the wagon was false paneling, the cover pushed aside so the agents could crawl in.

Deeks went in first, tucking himself as close to the side as possible. With Sam coming in the middle and his size, he immediately knew that this was going to be an incredibly tight fit. Once Callen squeezed in as well, they could hardly breathe. All three of them worked to slide the cover over the top of them, encasing everything in darkness.

Time was meaningless in the small compartment. Their hot breaths mingled together, making the air quite stuffy and uncomfortable. They could have been lying there for five minutes or several hours before Deeks finally felt the cart rumbling forward. Thinking about the situation they were in, he almost laughed. If Kensi ever found about how close they were to each other, the three agents would never hear the end of it.

The wagon trudged on for some time before it came to a halt, assumed to be right outside the city's walls. Voices conversing in a foreign language confirmed his suspicion. Although Deeks couldn't understand a word of it, he knew what was coming next. They all seemed to hold their breath as the terrorists began rifling through the barrels only a few inches above.

His chest was burning with cruel anxiety, afraid to breathe or even blink. The smallest of movement might alert them to their presence…and it would be game over for all of them. Sam and Callen were like dead weights beside him. If Deeks hadn't known they were there, they might have been sacks of flour in the dark they were so unmoving.

He wasn't the only one fearing what they couldn't see happening outside. At least Sam had the comfort of being able to understand a little of what they were saying to each other. The wagon was stationary for a long time, during which Deeks could have sworn that he heard some men arguing. Uh-oh.

After several more minutes, the talking ceased. And the wagon finally began to move in. He fought the urge to exhale deeply with relief and to catch his breath once more, but fear was still preventing the alleviation Deeks had hoped getting into the city would bring.

Time ticked on. There were no other sounds to even hint where they were or how they were progressing. Deeks was beginning to get worried that the driver wasn't going the right place when the cart screeched to a stop. The wagon creaked for a moment as the farmed got off of his seat and walked around to the side, where he rapped three times against the wood.

Together, stretching their cramped muscles, Sam, Callen, and Deeks lifted the false flooring off of them. Sweet, clean, night air rushed into Deeks's lungs, and immediately he felt rejuvenated. Rapidly, the three agents moved out from the compartment with their limbs stinging and raced into the alleyway, not looking back.

"Where did Mallory say they were last?" Callen whispered, bending low next to his comrades.

"Two blocks east of here was when they were attacked, so let's get going," Sam answered.

"Hold up just a second!" Deeks stopped them in an elevated voice, even though it was still hushed. "Take a look at this."

Sam pulled out a miniature flashlight from his bag and held it close to the ground so it would not create shadows on the walls. There was a large pool of blood intermixed with the dust. Callen, Sam, and Deeks all exchanged grim looks with one another. Years of working crime scenes told them that it was still relatively fresh, and the person who lost this much blood was not likely to survive.

"Let's say they were attacked when they lost contact with each other. Two blocks east, that's not that far. Let's try to see if we can find anymore pools like this," Callen grimly suggested.

They moved down the alley in separate directions, hoping to find anything else that would hint to what happened. Deeks didn't have to go far before finding another pool of the vermillion stain. Relief flooded him when he took note that it was much smaller, and smaller droplets followed it back out onto the main street.

Looking back over at Sam and Callen, he waved them towards him. They trotted next to the detective, examining the blood themselves for a moment.

"This looks like it was from two different people. Except it looks like whoever was bleeding here got away," Deeks whispered.

"We found more blood over on our end too. Whoever was fighting in this alley, several people died here," Sam replied with a slight frown. This wasn't looking good.

"Let's follow the blood trail, see where it takes us," Deeks suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Callen agreed.

Deeks kept his eyes on the dirty ground. Yeah, this person was definitely running when they were injured. Even the splatters were oval-shaped, indicating that the person was moving swiftly when the droplets fell. It led back onto one of the main roads, and a smear was found on the side of the building.

They tried to follow it for as long as half an hour longer before it ran cold. Whoever this person was, it wasn't looking good for them. The pools steadily got larger and with less space in between. This meant that whoever was wounded was getting worse.

"Alright, what do you think-" Deeks began to stay when a warning look from Sam told him to shut up immediately. Following the Navy SEAL's glare, he slowly turned to see a young girl watching them curiously, a wild gleam in her eye.

Deeks eyed Sam as if asking 'what now?'

The girl made that decision for them.

She screamed.

Deeks was the first one to react by quickly pushing a hand over her mouth, trying to murmur words of comfort. But the damage was already done, and shouts were already beginning to awaken the neighborhood.

"Run!" Callen shouted, taking off back down the way they came. Sam was hot on his partner's heels, but Deeks was still in the alley way. The girl had a death grip on his arm, and he couldn't shake her loose without hurting the child. As the shouts and footsteps got closer, he finally pushed her away and sprinted off.

His heart hammering in his chest, Deeks tried to locate where his comrades were, to no avail. He had to move too quickly, for he could make out figures about fifty yards away, and they were gaining on him.

The main street was also the widest, and no doubt where they were going to catch Deeks if he lingered too long. Having no idea if this was the direction Sam and Callen took, he crossed it and made some quick turns down the narrower streets. He tripped over a homeless man in the dark, which only alerted the terrorists to his location from the curses streaming out of the poor man's mouth.

He made several quick turns, residential apartment buildings towering above him when he realized he made his fatal mistake. Dead end. The voices, though farther away due to the series of turns, were getting closer, and would be right on his back since Deeks had to retrace his steps. His burning lungs meant nothing, he would have to keep running faster than any man had before if he were to get away.

Deeks ran back out from the alley and made a sharp right, only to have a heavy force slam into his head. The detective was thrown backwards, the ground crashing into his spine with a flash of white. His head was pounding so hard, he couldn't hear anything nor feel the ground below him. The blow throbbed viciously, causing what felt like his skull splitting with each beat of his rapid heart. A blurry figure was standing over him, boot raised.

_I'm sorry, Kensi, _Deeks thought right before the boot came crashing down and knocked him into oblivion.

** I'm so sorry for the cliff-hangers lately! Okay, maybe not. :) So- what remains unanswered? What happened to Kensi and the other marines? What about Sam and Callen? And who's got Deeks now? Mwahaha find out next chapter.**

** Teaser:**

_"I thought he was right behind us!" Callen protested, running a hand over his head in frustration. Getting separated was the worst possible thing to do. Mallory had warned them about that constantly before leaving._

_ "We gotta find him," Sam insisted, rising to his feet although his lungs still burned._

_ "Sam- we have other problems," Callen's voice dropped low. When Sam saw what he was referring to, his heart sunk as well._


	7. Bittersweet

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks again for all of the reviews and favorites and follows. It means so much. Please, always let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions by reviewing or PMing me. I promise that I'll reply if you do have a suggestion. Please read the note at the bottom! Okay- so here we go!**

**-C**

Deeks woke with a start, sitting straight up and snapping his head left and right to examine his surroundings. The sheet had slipped off of his bare chest and gathered just above the waist. Late morning light streamed through the window, half covered with lazy curtains. He was perspiring, his forehead clammy and palms sweaty. Deeks ran a warm hand through his bed-head, trying to make sense of the situation when he realized the form lying next to him.

Her curly brown hair was splayed across the pillow, her eyes shut lightly against the sun's eager gleam. Her hand was resting on Deeks's pillow, as if even in sleep, it was still trying to brush against his face.

Deeks felt all of the worry vanish from his system when he saw Kensi's peaceful face. Strands of hair were dancing up and falling down with the soft breath escaping her slightly-parted lips. She was here. Next to him.

He found himself lying back down, interlacing their fingers. Deeks pressed his forehead up against hers and inhaled deeply. The smell of sunshine was almost as tangible as the warmth from the actual thing itself. Her once-limp hand gently squeezed back before her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey," she murmured softly, their noses now grazing at the tip. He could feel her breath tickle his scruff, and it was one of the best feelings in the world.

"Hey," he replied, voice hoarse from hours of not being used.

Kensi managed a glorious smile, going ear to ear. It took a moment before Deeks was able to find his voice again, "did anybody ever tell you how beautiful you are?"

She pulled herself closer to him, her head snuggled in against his muscular chest. It was better than the softest feather pillow, and that was simply because it was one hundred percent _him. _

"If it wasn't from you, then I wouldn't have cared anyways," she whispered into his skin, lips grazing with their movement.

He planted a kiss atop her head, wrapping his free arm around her torso. They physically couldn't get any closer, but after spending so much time apart, Deeks never wanted to leave her side again.

"I'm so glad you're back," he exhaled, pecking her on the forehead once more. He could never grow tired of kissing her. It made his heart race and chest swell every time without fail.

Abruptly, she pulled away from his chest with a confused look, the exhaustion fleeing her face like a deer from a threat. "I never left, Deeks."

He sat up once again, his nightmare spilling into his reality, which scared him to death. "You were reassigned. Afghanistan. You-" Deeks stopped mid-sentence, not knowing how to finish it. There was nothing to finish…because this wasn't over yet.

"I what?" Kensi inquired once more, propping herself up on her elbows to get a better look at him.

Deeks felt a frown tugging at his features. This was a fantasy, and the nightmare the reality. He put on a brave face for her, dropping a kiss on her lips so tenderly and then murmured against them, "I'm sorry, Kens."

And in a flash of white glare, Kensi was gone, her scent was gone, and the warming rays of sunshine were gone. There was nothing but blackness and pain.

* * *

He heard the voices first. And this time, it wasn't ones of love and comfort and Kensi. They were urgent and heated. Obviously whoever had gotten a hold of him were in the middle of an extreme argument. Deeks tried to force his eyes open, but they wouldn't cooperate. Even the slightest thought from his head caused it to throb a hundred times worse.

Deeks wished so badly he could stay in the dream of his, where nothing terrible would dare to touch them. Where the heartache and longing for Kensi didn't exist, and the pounding headache didn't interrupt any thoughts of her.

But through his rambling thoughts, he was able to decipher one clear fact that he hadn't even taken into an account earlier. His captors were speaking English. Good, clear, American-born English. Wait, did that even make sense? Deeks berated his conscious for succumbing to the frazzled ramblings of his mind.

His eyes flew open, and a dim glow blinded him for a second. A lowly-lit lantern sat in the corner, barely illuminating two men a few yards in front of Deeks. Obviously they hadn't noticed that he had started waking up. He pulled light at his hands, trying to get a better feel for his surroundings because he still wasn't completely out of it. It took longer than he would have liked, which indicated that he had a concussion, to figure out that he was currently tied with his hands behind his back to a crappy wooden chair.

As the blurry vision cleared, Deeks could make out the specifics of the people in front of him. One was very tall, maybe about 6'2". He had a buzzed head of hair that resembled the color of burnt leaves- not quite brown and not quite black. This man was thinner than the other, who had a pretty big build for the size that he was- which was two inches shorter. Deeks got a bad feeling about this man. His wide face was furrowed, as if he was accustomed to glaring at people, and bare arms riddled with tattoos.

"We don't know who he is," the taller man insisted.

"Which is why we should kill him and be done with it," the other one suggested. Okay, Deeks really didn't like him now. His hair cut was similar to Eric's, but darker. Deeks knew enough to know that it was against the code of conduct for a marine to have it cut like that.

Yeah, Deeks was beginning to think that these guys were the marines who had gone missing. This was good, because if he was right, it would bring him to Kensi. On the other hand, they were debating whether or not to kill him.

"He doesn't look like a terrorist."

"The White Ghost is American, idiot. He hasn't woken up yet, so let's get rid of him while we have the chance!" the short marine hissed.

Deeks wasn't sure when he was going to make his presence known, but he guessed that this was a good of a cue as any. "Uhh, it might be a little late for that."

When shorty began swiftly approaching him, Deeks began rambling, "hold up, hold up! We're on the same side!"

The marine gripped his throat tightly. Deeks felt the air leave his lungs in a nanosecond, panic washing over him. "And how do we know you're not lying?"

Despite having no oxygen left, he managed to squeeze out, "Lieutenant Colonel Mallory Rider sent me."

The marine let go for a moment, examining him closely. "I still don't believe you."

"Stop, Sigara!" the other one ordered. He shoved Sigara out of the way and kneeled in front of Deeks.

"What's your name?"

Deeks had to cough for a moment before choking out, "Detective Marty Deeks, Los Angeles Police Department, currently employed at NCIS."

"What's the name of our base?"

"Point Eaglestrike."

"How many women are on the base roughly?"

"Two. And that's Mallory Rider and an NCIS agent."

Luckily, the dark-haired man seemed satisfied with his quick responses. He deftly sliced the ropes binding Deeks's hands. "My name is Captain Quinn Keelson. This is First Lieutenant Daniel Sigara."

"You're just gonna let him go!?" Daniel put up a fight, readying his gun and aiming at Deeks's chest.

"How would he know about all of that if he wasn't one of us?" Keelson protested. The detective could only sit and rub his raw wrists while they argued.

"They weren't there when we left!"

"My team was sent after one of our own. She was reassigned here about a month ago, Special Agent Kensi Blye, with NCIS," Deeks stammered, trying to gain these guys' trust. "Mallory sent us in after you and the rest of your men after communication broke down."

"Communications didn't break down," Sigara sneered. "They wiped out three of us, injured two."

Deeks's heart nearly stopped. Three of them were dead. And one of them could be...he physically shook his head to get rid of any of those thoughts.

"Where's the rest of your team?" Deeks inquired. He tried to stand, but had to use the chair to steady himself. The room seemed to be spinning, and the headache was only getting worse.

"In there. Come on, we may have something for you to eat," Keelson gestured to another door in the room. He assumed that one led to the outside, while the other one opened up to an extension of…wherever they were.

Keelson put a hand on Deeks's shoulder to steady him as he limped over to the door. Quinn gently pushed it open, it creaking on it's hinges.

Inside, it was even darker than the room he was being held in. Broken furniture littered it, and dust coated the floor evenly. A rat scurried across Deeks's foot, but he really didn't notice any of this. He was too busy focused on two silhouettes in the center. One was lying on a table, the only piece of furniture intact, and another was leaning over the injured marine.

"I need more light!"

Deeks knew that voice. He knew it better than his own. As Sigara slammed against the detective's shoulder to get past, the make-shift doctor looked up from her work. Her mistmatched eyes caught his for a second, looked away, and then snapped her head back to his direction as if she couldn't believe it was really him.

"Kensi," he managed to breathe.

"He said he knew you," Keelson spoke up, moving next to the barely coherent marine on the table.

"Yeah, he does. Can you give us a minute?"

Not waiting for a response, she raced past the two soldiers, grabbed Deeks's arm and dragged him back into the other room. Once they were alone, he immediately cupped her cheeks and brought his lips to hers. As she kissed back, Deeks realized just how much he missed her.

When they finally broke apart, their foreheads rested against each other's, out of breath.

"Are you okay?" Deeks questioned, scrutinizing every inch of her body, checking for injuries.

"I'm fine, you?" Kensi inquired, eyes lingering on his face. "I didn't even ask who they had caught and I didn't check, and if I did I could've-"

"I'm fine," Deeks silenced her firmly. All that mattered was her.

"Your head's bleeding."

"I don't care."

Kensi swallowed. "What happened? Why are you here?"

Deeks couldn't resist, he brought her into a tight hug, still not fully believing that she was really in front of him. He whispered into her shoulder, "They sent us after you. God, Kens, I was so scared."

As they drifted apart, Deeks's hand lingering on her side. When she visibly flinched, wincing in pain, he bent down to get a better look at it. Carefully, he touched two fingers to her hip, and they came away stained pink.

"It's a scratch," she sighed breathlessly.

"A scratch or a bullet graze, Kens?" Deeks questioned, looking up into her mismatched eyes. "We found so much blood in the alley…" he drifted off.

"That belongs to Captain Oliver Davis, who's in there now. The rest of them are dead," she choked back a sob.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

She managed a nod, even though she had to bring her arm across her eyes, trying desperately to hide tears that threatened to spill over. "What about Callen and Sam? Where are they?"

"We got into Gardēz together, but were split up…I don't know where they are."

* * *

Sam wasn't sure how long it was before he finally slowed to a stop from running. His lungs were burning, inflicted with dirt and dust. The blood was still roaring in his ears, and heart almost stopped when he saw that Callen wasn't behind him. Painful seconds ticked by before finally, his partner flew around the corner.

The Navy SEAL heaved a sigh of relief while Callen put his hands on his knees, bending over and gasping for breath. It was another minute before Sam began to realize that something was seriously off. Deeks was just as fast as the rest of them. He shouldn't have been taken so long. Another minute trudged by before Callen managed to stand up straight and return his breathing to normal.

"Where's Deeks?" Sam inquired, voice hoarse.

His partner's eyes went wide, and spun wildly around. He didn't find the blond detective behind him. "I thought he was right behind us!" Callen protested, running a hand over his head in frustration.

Getting separated was the worse possible thing to do. Mallory had warned them about that constantly before leaving.

"We gotta find him," Sam insisted, looking around quickly. He was trying to decide which was to go first. There were too many options, and they had no idea if the terrorists knew where they were.

"Sam- we have other problems," Callen's voice dropped low with defeat. When Sam saw what he was referring to, his heart sunk as well.

**Boom! Reunion happened, fate decided, and other cliff-hanger…sorta. Again. Please leave me suggestions for future chapters. I know where I wanna go with this, but am totally open to new ideas. Hope you enjoyed!**

**Teaser:**

"_We need a way out of here," Deeks broke the silence, licking his parched lips._

_"Wow, I never would have realized that, genius," Sigara snapped._

_"Stand down!" Keelson interrupted him._

_"Quit it both of you!" Kensi lept to her feet, prepared to physically step in the middle of something. Her brave face was distorted by a mask of pain as she doubled-over._

_"Kens?" Deeks fearfully called, rushing to her side, where a lot of blood was gushing out from the wound that Kensi had so stubbornly insisted was a scratch._


	8. Shots Fired

**Author's Note: **

**Hey everybody! Happy-almost-holidays! Enjoy the chapter, and sorry this took so long. My honors and AP teachers have been relentless with the work load. Please let me know what you think! My goal is to get to 175 followers by the time I post the next chapter- and I'll explain why next time I post ;) Love ya all! By the way- Army vs. Navy game…GO ANNAPOLIS WITH A GREAT WIN!**

**-C**

**Point Eaglestrike**

Lieutenant Colonel Mallory Rider had seen a lot of combat in her three years of serving in the special operations command of the Marine Corps. Graduating top of her class at the United States Naval Academy, she was quickly offered a position serving in Afghanistan. But in those three years, she hadn't quite dealt with a group of people like the NCIS Agents.

Kensi's resourcefulness had surprised Mallory greatly, and the fact that they made quick friends surprised her even more. Rider was more of the person to join in on the football games than to be watching them, even growing up. You could say that the two women were cut from the same cloth.

The Lieutenant Colonel had also never seen a situation like this before, nor have lost so many men in so short amount of time. But because she knew what kind of people were working it from the inside, most of all Kensi, it gave her a little more ease.

Kyle Paulson and her were taking an inventory of the weapons in the armory, having a light conversation when Granger stalked over to them.

"What can I do for you, assistant director?" Mallory questioned through gritted teeth. Like almost everybody else on the base, she despised the man.

"Our frequencies picked up on some chatter within Gardēz. It seems as though they are aware of Sam, Callen, and Deeks."

Mallory's stomach immediately knotted, bile rising in her throat. "Anything indicating that they've been captured?"

"Not as of now," Granger trailed off, his jaw in a hardened line.

Sam's heart sank when he saw what Callen was referring to. There, in the alley, were the bodies of four marines. The terrorists obviously mutilated them, and it was too gruesome for the Navy SEAL to look at longer than he needed to.

"Okay, they went in with a team of eight, which means that four of them are alive, including Kensi," Callen managed to whisper, moving closer to Sam. His eyes were glazed over with sadness, seeing the marines lying there like that.

"Maybe Deeks will find them before we will," Sam tried to sound optimistic.

"Or the terrorists got to him."

"Just a ray of sunshine, aren't you?" Sam grumbled.

"I'm being realistic here."

Before Sam could reply, the angered voices of the terrorists echoed off of the buildings.

"We need to find shelter," Callen decreed, and the two immersed themselves into the shadows.

_She was cornered, with no place to run. The three men had her stopped, with more behind her. Kensi didn't have time to think when she could clearly see the leader's finger squeezing the trigger. She just moved._

_ The bullet whizzed by her head, killing one of two men that had followed her into the alley way. But it was still four against one, and Kensi was horribly out-gunned. She quickly shot another man, but never got a second shot off. _

_ The leader slammed her wrist against the wall, the shock making her lose the grip on her weapon. In retaliation, Kensi elbowed his nose with her right arm, driving him back several feet. An overwhelming sense of danger washed over, pure animalistic instinct, before she rapidly turned on her heel and intercepted the hand that would have stabbed the knife into her spine. _

_ Kensi spun his arm in a circle before twisting his hand and grabbing the wicked blade herself. Another man grabbed her from behind, but she stabbed downwards and into the side of the terrorist. Immediately, he collapsed to the ground and Kensi quickly took care of the one who she disarmed by slitting his throat. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the leader was aiming a gun at her once again. Before he fired, Kensi caught the falling man underneath the chin and used his lifeless body as a shield when the shots were fired. Still hiding behind the sinking man, she expertly threw the knife, it spinning through the air before driving itself into the leader's lung._

_ Relieved, and shocked that she made it out without a scratch, she let her human shield drop and took several deep breaths. The chaos in the street still hadn't subsided, and turned to head back out there when a massive force from behind brought her to the ground._

_ One of them was still alive and kicking. She rolled, trying to shake him, but the heavy man managed to cling to her still. Kensi ended up on her back with the terrorist trying to choke her out. Her vision was beginning to cloud, her hands trying to pry his steel fingers off of her neck. She dug her nails into his skin, drawing blood, when he finally retracted. _

_ Kensi felt a second of relief when the sweet air rushed into her lungs. She was a second too slow to realize when the weight in her thigh holster disappeared. He had grabbed her SIG. The terrorist jammed the barrel of the gun underneath her chin. She found the strength to swat the gun away. _

_ The man jammed a fist into her jaw, stunning her for a nanosecond while he crawled off of her. Kensi flipped herself over, rising to standing a position. The terrorist was heading for the gun. She raced, trying to get to it first. _

_ For a minute, it looked as if she was going to reach it in time. At the last second, the terrorist's hand grasped it and brought it up. There was no way Kensi could have dodged it when he fired. She was so close, she thought she felt the barrel touch the skin above her pelvis when he pulled the trigger._

_ Kensi was thrown back against the ground, bleeding profusely. Pain washed over her, while the shock was enough to make her body go rigid. As the terrorist rose, aiming the barrel right in the middle of her face, she was sure she was going to die._

_ Just as Kensi closed her eyes, bracing for it, when a single shot rang through the vicinity. Cautiously, she opened one of her orbs to find that the terrorist was lying next to her, the slick smile still plastered on his face._

_ "Get up, princess!" Sigara shouted. He had a marine thrown over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, but Kensi couldn't tell who it was. _

_ For a moment, she wasn't sure if she had it in her to move. But the adrenaline pumping so hard was masking the worse of the pain. _

Moveit, Blye, _she imagined her father scolding her, scoffing at her reluctance to move. It was enough to drive her to a standing position and enough to keep her legs moving as they ran through the streets of a hell hole._

Kensi woke with a start, her forehead drenched in sweat. She peeled back the bandage on her side, which was soaked in blood. If it could had the ability to get worse, it did. The skin around the entry wound was turning yellow, and the pain was getting worse.

Deeks was snoring softly beside her, while Sigara tended to Captain Oliver Davis, who was unconscious and covered in blood on the table. Keelson was taking watch through a small hole in the dirty window.

With a grimace, she slammed her head back down on the pack, which was serving as a pillow.

_They trudged into the abandoned apartment, breathing heavily. The edge of Kensi's vision was fuzzy. Everything from then was a blur. Keelson quickly patching her up, and then focusing on getting Davis better. Kensi was so intent on getting him better, than she barely paid attention when the other two left her to tend him when they swore they heard the terrorists running. She didn't ask when Keelson said they caught one of them. She didn't care until they walked in with Deeks about thirty minutes later._

Keelson insisted that the NCIS Agents get some rest while him and Sigara took watch.

"You okay?" Keelson pressed, moving to Kensi's side with a half-empty bottle of water. She took it gratefully and took a few precious sips.

"Fine."

"Can I take a look at that graze again?"

"It's fine," Kensi shook him off.

The conversation was enough to shake Deeks from his sleep, which Kensi felt bad about. His blue eyes opened, and immediately reached out for Kensi's hand.

"How long were we out?" he inquired hoarsely. The dried blood on his temple combined with the dark bags under his eyes was making him look even worse.

"Two hours."

"Yes, two hours that could have spent getting Davis better," Sigara interrupted them. "I don't know if he's gonna last much longer."

"Don't talk like that!" Kensi protested.

Sigara glared at her while Deeks broke the silence, "We need to find a way out of the city, so let's focus on that. The sooner we do that, the sooner he can get medical help."

"Wow, I never would have realized _that, _Genius."

"Stand down, Daniel!" Keelson barked.

When Sigara took a menacing step towards the three on the floor, Kensi had had enough.

"Cut it out! Both of you!" Kensi _lept to her feet, prepared to physically step in the middle of something. Her brave face was distorted by a mask of pain as she doubled-over._

_"Kens?" Deeks fearfully called, rushing to her side, where a lot of blood was gushing out from the wound that Kensi had so stubbornly insisted was a scratch._

**Author's Note:**

**Hope you enjoyed! Looking forward to the next chapter! Please give me your thoughts and feedback!**


	9. Deserter

**Author's Note:**

**Guys- I can't express how great you made my day since I posted the last chapter! Not only did we reach 180 followers, which is significant because my last story ended with 175…after thirty chapters. This is eight long so far. This, and the kind reviews that you all left me :) I just want to address a few things that came up in the comments. As for my remark about the Army vs. Navy game the other day, I don't mean to offend anybody if I did. I fully support all of our service members, but as you can tell by my penname, I'm biased towards the navy for my brother. Nobody left any nasty comments by any means, but just thought I'd put that out there :) Also, I will never, never, EVER kill off characters that aren't my own. I'm borrowing these characters to play with and give them back intact…without any missing heads or limbs. So don't worry about that. Okay- sorry for the insanely long author's note…ON WITH THE STORY!**

**-C**

Kensi fell to her knees with a gasp, groaning as she tightly pressed a hand to her side. The running blood streamed through her fingers, staining them vermillion, and dripping onto the floor with a sickly sound. It could have been mistaken for the sound of water leaving a leaky faucet. But it wasn't so innocent. A large blotch on the floor was already beginning to spread, and quite visible in the low light.

"Kens!" Deeks pressed, trying to get a better view of the wound, but her awkward position was getting in the way of that. "Come on, let me have a look."

"I'm fine," she growled through gritted teeth, but her voice cracking betrayed her words. She clenched and unclenched her fist, knuckles turning white.

"Are either of you a medic!?" Deeks desperately questioned.

Keelson stared at Kensi, obviously berating himself for missing such a wound. He stammered, "S-Spenc was our medic, b-but I know a few things."

"Come on Kens, lie down," the detective softly ordered, his voice dripping with panic.

She shook her head stubbornly.

Deeks didn't know what else to do. So he resorted to something that Kensi never thought she would hear. He pleaded, "Please. Please, Kensi."

With an exhale of breath, she slowly managed to sit herself down and then roll onto her back. Her face was contorted with agony. Since she was still wearing the long-sleeved coal-colored shirt, there was no way of telling how badly she was bleeding from looking at her. Kensi's face was growing paler, her breathing becoming shallow.

"What do you want me to do?" Deeks questioned Keelson.

"Hang tight for just a second. Sigara- bring me more light."

The blond surfer could only stare into Kensi's mismatched eyes, which were fluttering open and shut in attempt to blink away the pain. Daniel Sigara set the lantern next to her wounded side, where a stain was evident on her shirt already.

Keelson was tentative, but his professional concerns were kicking in more as he lifted her shirt halfway, revealing her toned stomach that was saturated and sticky with the scarlet substance. Deeks heard the blood roar in his ears, and fell into a stupor as the marine began to work.

Keelson peeled the bandage off, it nearly disintegrating in his hands. It appeared that he had turned to Deeks to say something, but the detective couldn't force himself to concentrate.

"Deeks!" Finally, the marine had gotten his attention. "Please keep her calm and distracted for me."

Without a word, he scooted behind Kensi, elevating her head on his lap. She stared into his baby blue eyes as Deeks looked worriedly back into hers.

"You're gonna be fine, Kens. Just keep looking at me," Deeks whispered, leaning down close to her face, so his breath tickled her nose. In that moment, it was the best feeling in the world knowing that he was really here, and that he wasn't going to let her go.

She closed her eyes briefly and nodded her head slightly, gathering her strength.

Deeks never took his gaze off of her, but Kensi could tell he was also watching what Keelson was doing out of the corner of his eye.

"Kensi, do you know if it's a through and through or not?" Quinn asked, shattering the calamity she felt for just a second.

"The bullet's still in there," Kensi groaned hoarsely.

Deeks watched as Keelson wiped away the blood concealing the wound with a wet rag they had set aside for treating Captain Davis. She winced, and Deeks immediately reached for her hand, gripping it tightly.

"Just look at me," he repeated.

Once Keelson had cleared away the blood for the time being, he prodded her skin, obviously looking for something, but Deeks didn't know what. He was more focused on Kensi's tightening grip, and now blood was now coming from her lip she was biting it so hard.

"Shit," Keelson cursed, putting his sticky hands on his thighs as he kneeled, looking at the wound as if he couldn't believe it.

"What?" Sigara intervened.

"I have to extract the bullet. Luckily it didn't hit any vital organs, but there is a chance that I'll knick something."

"Then leave it in," Deeks suggested.

"I can't," Keelson surrendered his arms up in the air. "If I do, it certainly will cause damage. Not to mention, there's a high risk of infection, if one hasn't already begun to take place."

Deeks ran his free hand over his scruff.

"It's up to you, Kensi," Quinn determined.

"Get it out," she answered rather quickly. "If we leave it in and it tears through something while we're running, we're screwed."

Keelson took a deep breath. "I need a knife and alcohol. Check Oliver's pack, the med kit will probably have some more left."

"What should I do?" Deeks asked.

"Stay there."

Kensi and Deeks didn't even notice the two marines bustling about, gathering the necessary supplies. Deeks was drawing circles on top of Kensi's hand with his thumb, whispering little-nothings of comfort close to her ear.

He noticed how her forehead had a glossy sheen of sweat, and looked around for something to cool her off with. Deeks made a grab for the bucket of water behind him, where several clean rags were soaking. Snatching one up, he wrung it out and then draped it above her brow.

When Keelson returned to his originally positioned, holding the knife over the lantern's flame, Deeks got a sinking feeling in his stomach. He planted a light kiss on top of her head, wincing as the alcohol sizzled when coming in contact with the knife.

"Just look at me," he murmured.

"Always," she whispered, just before the knife came into contact with her skin.

Kensi's bent leg shot out in pain, and Deeks thought she was going to break his hand she was squeezing it so hard. She opened her mouth and almost looked as if she was going to scream, but managed to keep quiet. Deeks will never know how she did it. Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes, and the detective felt so helpless, just holding her hand and running his fingers through her hair.

Her whole body was shaking uncontrollably, and a soft whimper escaped her now-tightly-sealed lips. Finally, Keelson pulled away with the blade, coated in Kensi's blood. The sight of it dripping from the tip made bile rise in Deeks's throat. She let out a shaky breath, losing the grip on the detective's hand a little.

"Just sit tight, Kensi. Almost there," Keelson reassured.

"You're doing great," Deeks added, voice soft.

Quinn went in with a pair of forceps, and with a low moan from Kensi, extracted the bullet. He quickly reapplied cloth to the wound while threading a needle. It took a few minutes and hisses from Kensi, but Keelson managed to sew up the wound and neatly bandage it.

Deeks managed to sigh with relief. She was out of immediate danger, but it didn't solve the problem that they needed a way out of the city as quickly as possible.

"You okay?" Deeks inquired, removing the damp cloth from her forehead. "Sorry, that was dumb question."

Kensi, ignoring his last comment, answered quietly, "Suckishly."

"That's one way to describe it," he managed a chortle of laughter, through the tears that were threatening to spill over.

"Touché."

"Still not how you use it, princess, but I'll let it slide this once," he whispered, still running his fingers through her brunette locks.

Her eyes drooping from exhaustion, he dragged a pack over and replaced his lap with it. He knelt by her head, still holding her hand until her breath became even, but shallow. Deeks reluctantly retracted himself from the position he was in to talk with Sigara and Keelson. To his surprise, he found that they were watching his movements skeptically.

"What?" He inquired of the man.

"I overheard her saying something brief to Mallory about having a man back home. Didn't really go into much detail though. Guess that guy must be you," Keelson replied, returning his attention to Davis, who was still out cold.

"Forget that. We need to move soon," Sigara growled, eyeing Deeks murderously.

"Unfortunately, that's not going to be easy," Keelson put in. "Kensi's not going to be able to walk on her own for at least another day, and we can't wait that long. With two of us occupied, that leaves only one watching our backs."

"It's a chance we're going to have to take. Those men followed me to this area, they're eventually going to find us," Deeks agreed.

"Okay. Let's say that we can successfully get moving in a half hour, since we only have two hours of nighttime left before we have to go dark again. Where would we go?"

"There's an asset that took us into the city. A farmer. He was supposed to bring us back out again, but him and the cart will be gone by noon tomorrow. Even if we make it to the marketplace, Sam and Callen are still out there alone."

"Would they know to meet back at the cart?" Keelson inquired, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, but there's one problem. Six of us fitting into that tiny compartment is going to be impossible. Three of us barely made it. Maybe we can get in four if we're lucky."

"I doubt that your friends will be able to make it in time," Sigara sneered. "You were fortunate enough that we found you before the terrorists had your head on a pike too."

"One of them is an ex-Navy SEAL. I wouldn't worry too much about their capabilities," Deeks growled. Okay, this guy was seriously pissing him off.

"Doesn't matter here, beach boy. This isn't California and this isn't a game. If they're found, they will be killed. And us waiting around for them will most likely result in nothing but our deaths as well."

"I'm not leaving without them. That's it. There's no other choice. Your ultimatum. You get out on your own, or with us and my friends."

"Keelson?" Sigara questioned, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Semper fi, jackass. I'm not leaving without them either," Quinn said, voice steady.

Sigara took a menacing step forward, and for a second, Deeks thought that the man was going to lunge at one of them. Instead, he hands clasped not around one of their necks, but the straps of his backpack. He hoisted it over his shoulders and was about to leave the room when he turned on his heel for just a second.

"I don't think you realize the gravity of the situation, boys. Those two are going to slow you down, leave a trail, prevent you from holding a weapon. You're not getting out of the city alive. See you in hell."

And with that, Sigara was gone.

"Shit," Keelson cursed, throwing a fist into the wall. Deeks kept quiet, leaving the marine to his thoughts. "Alright, help me pack up the supplies."

They spent the next fifteen minutes cleaning the medical tools in the bucket full of water, repacking the various articles of clothing strews on the floor, most of them torn for rags, and uneaten granola bars and unopened bottles of water. Upon packing a granola bar, Deeks at last noticed the gnawing pains clawing at his stomach.

_Save it for Kensi and the others, _he told himself. Just as he threw it into the pocket of a backpack, Keelson retrieved it for him.

"Eat. You're going to need it."

With a nod of gratitude, Deeks savored each bite slowly at first, but ended up inhaling it. Satisfied for the time being, he checked his watch. With a rising sense of horror, he realized how little time they had left to get moving. He couldn't believe already half an hour had passed since Sigara abandoned them.

"We need to get them up. Or Oliver, at least. He's gonna take a while," Keelson suggested, rising to his feet.

"What happened to him?"

"Multiple stab wounds to the torso from a close-quarter combat he was pushed into. He's been touch and go," Quinn choked on the last sentence.

"He'll make it. Just like Kensi and my friends. We're almost out of here."

Deeks found himself gaining hope, even at his own words. There was only a little left to go, he tried telling himself. Then they would all be home.

"I admire your optimism, Detective Deeks. Honestly. But sometimes it does more harm than good."

On that note, he roused Oliver, as Deeks looked on. The young Captain's shaggy amber hair was matted and greasy. His green eyes fluttered open, but they were cloudy and staring off into the distance.

The man was clearly very ill.

"Wake Kensi, will you?" Keelson asked, keeping his voice low for the benefit of Oliver Davis.

Deeks knelt beside her once more, shaking her shoulder gently. She managed a grunt in her sleep, but her eyes remained shut. The detective tried once more, this time speaking, "Come on, Fern. We gotta go."

At last, her eyes slowly opened, lips in a tight line. Deeks narrowed in on how gaunt she looked and her labored breathing. Something was wrong.

"You sure you're feeling alright enough to move?"

"We don't have a choice. I'll be okay," she insisted. Deeks threw on one of the heavier packs, as they managed to conserve space down to two. With an easy motion, he wrapped an arm underneath Kensi's underarms and hoisted her up to a standing position.

Deeks could tell with her stumble that she was dizzy and clearly exhausted. Almost all of her weight was put on him as they began to move for the door. Behind them, Keelson lifted Oliver up into a fireman's carry. With the go-ahead from the marine, the left the abandoned apartment, and entered the night's ravaging terror.

**Author's Note:**

**I know, more character development than action in this one, so I apologize for that if any of you were bored. Hope you enjoyed anyways! Please PM me or review if you have any suggestions or just want to comment! Love ya all, and thanks for the 180 followers!**

**Teaser:**

_ "It's almost noon," Deeks remarked._

_ "Where are your friends?" Keelson wondered aloud, echoing everybody's thoughts._

_ "They'll be here."_

_ "You heard what the farmer told us. He must be out of the city by twelve, according to his work log. They'll know something is wrong if we leave any later."_

_ Deeks exhaled deeply. For the first time since working for NCIS, he was caught in a crossroads with no compass to guide him. He was on his own. And he wondered if he was capable of leading them to a safe haven, or take the path with a lion's den at the end._


	10. Complications

**Author's Note:**

**The response on this is honestly blowing me away guys. Seriously. I check my e-mail at least every hour, and every time there's some sort of alert from this story :) Thanks so much for all of your support, and I just wanted to make a shout out to SkylarFiari, a friend of mine. And here you go- chapter 10!**

**-C**

For the first five minutes, Deeks thought that they were doing well.

Well, that opinion was quickly changed.

His hopes were just beginning to soar. All was quiet on the streets, Kensi was keeping up well, and Keelson was successful in lugging Captain Oliver Davis in a fireman's carry with ease. They left the abandoned apartment, not bothering to rid it of the evidence. The terrorists would find it soon enough, and all it would do is waste time.

Deeks kept a conscious eye looking towards the east. When the city began to wake from it's slumber, that's when they would be in danger the most. Encountering that little girl that blew their cover in the first place was a perfect example.

They slipped into the alleyway where Deeks was knocked out by Sigara. With the light of the crescent moon guiding them, he made a left, walked about a hundred yards, and then rested in another alley, more for Kensi's benefit than anything.

Apartment buildings surrounded them, towering up, but no more than four or five stories in this part of the city. Most of the windows weren't even covered by glass. Occasionally, you would see a figure leaning out of one of these gaping holes, eyes boring into them, but not really caring enough to move.

Deeks waited patiently for Keelson to catch up to them. He readjusted his positioning so Kensi lied more naturally against his side before glancing onto a busy street. They were traveling, using the method of avoiding all the main roads. It would be the first place the insurgents looked for them. Unfortunately, there was no way around going across to get back to the cart and their ally.

He flexed his hand around the gun he was holding with his free hand. His palm was getting sweaty quickly. As if Kensi was picking up on his thoughts, she double-checked the magazine for hers.

Deeks tentatively took a step into the road, empty of any traffic at this hour. The four of them were about halfway across, and the young detective was about to let out a sigh of relief when suddenly, a shot ripped through the night. It didn't come from any enemy, though.

It came from Kensi, who had just killed a man lurking in the shadows behind a fruit stand. Deeks would have completely missed the terrorist, whose cold and fallen hand was centimeters away from the gun he had once been holding. The shot was clean, right through the head.

He couldn't help but steal an impressed glance towards her. Injured, just woke up from a make-shift and certainly painful surgery, and could still nail an armed target between the eyes. Yep. She was indeed Wonder Woman.

The moment was lost as Deeks brought his attention back to the echoing gun shot. Not a second later, more men appeared from farther down the road. Deeks took off running, slowed down by wounded Kensi. They still managed to move pretty quickly though. The pounding adrenaline will do that to you.

Although they were moving at such a pace that it would give most other people a run for their money, the enemy was gaining. Deeks pull them through several tight turns, hoping to lose them. He turned down a street, losing the men behind them, to find two more waiting for them up ahead.

The detective quickly back tracked, making different turns this time. The echoes of the men were all around them, and he felt unmistakable fear rising in his chest. For Kensi, for Keelson, for the wounded marine on his back, for Sam, for Callen. It was no secret to the four of them, no matter how brave Deeks tried to look, that it wouldn't be so easy getting out of this situation. He skidded to a halt, realizing they were at a dead end.

Deeks breathlessly ordered, "turn around!"

The detective could clearly make out the weariness in Keelson's features as he spun. When Deeks and Kensi rounded the corner, they were faced with a major problem. Four of the terrorists had caught up with them.

It didn't take a split second for the small group to react. Keelson, unarmed, flung himself out of the way as Kensi and Deeks quickly brought up their weapons and killed every one of their marks before they could get a single shot off.

For the moment, they seemed to be alone, but it was no time to rest.

"You good, Keelson?" Deeks inquired, breath shaky.

With a nod, the marine answered, "we're close. I recognize this place."

They made their way along the road before running down a side street. Keelson was right, Deeks was beginning to miraculously remember parts of this area as well. As they continued to move, their pace slowed significantly from pure exhaustion. None of them had slept properly in a long time.

Keelson took point, until with a sigh of relief, they re-entered an area with more apartment buildings. He made a quick turn down one more alley and knocked on a door set right in the middle. It was a tactical nightmare for a quick escape if they needed one, but this _was _supposed to be a stealth mission.

For Deeks everything hurt. He couldn't imagine what Keelson was feeling, carrying the weight of a fully grown man on his back for miles. For now, they seemed to have lost their hunters, so he relaxed, examining Kensi's face.

Before he was able to draw any conclusions, the door opened with a creak, drawing Deeks's attention for a mere second. He never saw the farmer, and he wasn't sure if this was the man who drove them into the city; Deeks couldn't care less right now.

He rushed Kensi inside, half carrying her. The apartment wasn't much, but certainly an improvement from where they were previously staying. Ornate rugs decorated the floor, surrounding a low table. Through a section separated by curtains, Deeks could see several cots pushed up against the wall. Sparse bedding was thrown upon them, and it made him feel pity towards these people more than anything.

Kensi let out a pained hiss, and Deeks set her down on one of the rugs carefully. He placed his hands gently on her shoulders, trying to get a better angle of looking into her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Stitching," was all Kensi managed to get out, her voice was so raspy. She looked much worse than before the left. Her eyes were even more sunken into her head, skin paler.

"Were they ripped or torn?" Deeks questioned.

She could only shake her head.

"Keelson-" the detective began to call.

"Deeks! I need your help!"

He turned in surprise, to the voice of Quinn Keelson. The marine had laid his comrade out on the floor as well. Deeks raced to the senior officer's side, who was putting his ear right above Davis's partially open mouth.

"He's barely breathing," the panic was evident as Keelson spoke. "Check for a heartbeat."

Keelson began performing CPR as Deeks put two fingers to his pulse point, trying to find it. It thumped against his skin, weak and irregular.

Deeks felt so helpless, watching Keelson resort to pounding on his friend's chest, trying to drum the life back into him. And then suddenly, just like that, the pulse lost the beat.

"Lost the pulse!" the detective nearly screamed.

"STAY WITH ME!" Keelson pleaded in utter desperation. He pounded on the fallen marine's chest harder, but Deeks knew it was pointless. "YOU'RE STRONGER THAN THIS!"

Keelson finally sank back on his rear in resignation. Tears were running down his cheeks, and eerily quietly, he whispered, "Don't leave me, brother."

Deeks buried his head in his hands, staring at the ground. They couldn't have lost another American soldier. He felt a familiar burn at the corner of his eyes, and realized that he wanted to cry too.

Keelson refused to look at Oliver's face as he wept for his friend's loss, Deeks was the one who took the blanket from the dark-eyed, dark-haired man to cover up the Captain with. Solemnly, a single tear cascading to the floor, he draped it over his body.

Deeks glanced back over to Kensi, noticing her empty gaze staring at the fallen marine. With a sigh, he walked over, putting a placating hand on her back. He whispered, "try to get some sleep, Kens. Please."

She didn't respond, but lay back anyways. Deeks watched her for a moment, and then moved back over to Keelson where he kneeled by the grieving marine. For several minutes, the two stayed like that. Quinn covering his face, and Deeks staring into space.

Finally, a sound like a drowning animal came from Keelson. "He wasn't even thirty and had a pregnant wife back home. I was best man in the wedding. She's gonna be…" Quinn couldn't finish the sentence.

Deeks remembered back to when he lost his partner, Jess Trainor, and knew exactly how the heartbroken marine was feeling. No words of comfort would heal him in a moment, so the detective stayed silent in mourning.

A pale light from a crack in the wood caught his attention. The sun was beginning to rise, which meant that they had been there for about an hour. Deeks forced himself to his feet, muscles screaming in protest. The man was staring at him, and the blond wished he knew how to communicate with the farmer.

To avoid any awkwardness, Deeks moved over by Kensi's sleeping form. He lay down next to her, stroking the hair springing loose from her careful ponytail. When his fingers brushed up against her forehead, he retracted in surprise.

She was burning up, clearly with a fever. He hated to bother Keelson in the mourning process, but Kensi didn't normally get sick and this was serious.

"Keelson. Something's wrong with Kensi."

That seemed to do the trick for shaking the marine from his stupor. Slowly but surely, he picked himself up and put himself on the other side of Kensi's sleeping form. With much exhaustion, he put the back of his hand to her skin, and immediately, eyes widened.

"That's not good. Wake her up, I need to get the med kid," Keelson ordered.

Deeks shook her shoulder gently, but there was no response. He began moving quicker and coaxing, "Kensi, you gotta wake up."

At last and with a groan, she emerged from her uneasy sleep. But she wasn't opening her eyes all the way, and was still breathing unevenly.

"Where are we?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"Somewhere safe, we're getting out of here soon," Deeks answered. When Keelson joined them once more, Deeks began to panic once more.

"Did she say anything?" Quinn inquired immediately.

"She didn't know where we were…" he trailed off.

"God dammit," Keelson mumbled, while setting to work.

"What?"

The marine ignored him. He took a rubber cord and tied it tightly around Kensi's bicep. After a few seconds, Keelson checked for a pulse at the wrist and timed it on his watch.

"Kensi, can you sit up?"

The NCIS agent did as she was asked, looking greener as she went through the motions of doing so. Keelson proffered her a water bottle, which she took gratefully, and took a large drink of it before handing it back. All of this seemed irrelevant, until Deeks noticed that her hands were shaking.

"Get some more rest, okay? We'll let you know when we're on the move," Keelson whispered to her.

Once again, Kensi didn't speak, only did what she was told. The marine repacked the supplies, and trudged across the room to the backpacks as quickly as he could. Deeks was right on his heals, and once they were out of earshot, he demanded, "What's wrong with her?"

"She's exhibiting all the typical signs. Low blood pressure, high fever, shaking hands, confusion."

"Typical signs of what?" Deeks's voice raised a little with frustration.

"Sepsis. What happens is that when somebody gets a bacterial infection, certain chemicals are released by the body in response. Unfortunately, in extreme situations, this can cause sepsis, in which the organs go into shock and stop functioning properly. We need to leave and get her help, or she'll die."

Deeks's blood ran cold. He stuttered, "M-my friends are still out there. Where does that leave us?"

"Not with much time. This farmed enters and leaves the city on a strict time card as part of his trade. The terrorists watching the city keep note of this. If we're not out of here by noon today, they'll know something's wrong."

"So if Callen and Sam don't get back in time…"

"Then we'll have quite the choice to make."

**Author's Note:**

**Sorry if this sucks. I'm kinda rushing through it because I have to do this stupid science homework assignment. Ugh. Cannot wait until Christmas break. I might explode if this week goes any slower. I'm going back and reading, and I'm still not a hundred percent happy with it, but I hope you guys are.**


	11. Bedside Vigil

**Author's Note:**

**When I first began writing this story, I never thought that it would get the kind of response it has. Right now, it has 200 followers and 130 reviews, which absolutely mean the world to me :) My last story did almost as well and that was after thirty chapters. Anyways, as my holiday present to you, here is the eleventh chapter.**

Deeks didn't leave Kensi's side. It felt like hours, but was really only minutes since Keelson told him of her ailment…and the choice they would have to make if Callen and Sam didn't get back in time.

He wished he thought he was imagining it, but it seemed as though she was getting worse with each passing second. The cool cloth draped over her brow was doing nothing in keeping the fever down. She was restless in her sleep, hands still shaking even in slumber. The detective readjusted the soaked cloth, so it better stayed after she had turned in her sleep to face him.

Her expression was scrunched up, as if smelling something awful. Worse part of watching Kensi suffer was the way her body couldn't be at rest. She was always tossing and turning or groaning through slightly parted lips.

Deeks sat back, elbows resting on his knees. They had two and a half hours before they needed to get out of here. With no way of communicating with Sam and Callen, Deeks didn't know if they were injured, stuck someplace, or out of the city entirely. Kensi needed to get out of Gardēz as soon as possible, regardless whether they were there or not. Even if he sent Kensi ahead, he would also have to have Keelson go with to protect her.

He tried to brush it off, telling himself that they would cross that bridge when they got to it, but procrastination wasn't an option. With this realization, Deeks quickly decided that Keelson and Kensi would go ahead without him, and he would wait another day for Sam and Callen. Another twenty-four hours was a long time to wait out the vicious pack of terrorists hunting them. Yet, the danger meant nothing when concerning his surrogate family.

"What time is it?" Deeks asked Keelson, without taking his eyes off of Kensi.

His response came as Quinn moved to sit himself next to Deeks, "They have two hours. Then we need to high-tail it out of here."

"If Sam and Callen don't show up, then you two will continue without me, and I'll wait here."

"Not happening. We're not leaving without you."

"I can't leave without them. It's not what Kensi would do if our roles were reversed," Deeks countered.

"You do realize that if she comes to and sees that you're not with us, she's gonna kill me," he quipped, meeting the young detective's eye. The comment made Deeks's lips twitch into a small smile. Yup, that was his girl.

"What makes you think that?"

Keelson scoffed. "Are you kidding? It's quite obvious how much you two care for each other. Most of them boys on base tried to hit on her at one time or another, and she continually turned them down. None of us knew why until you showed up, because Kensi never said she had a guy back home."

"I wonder why…" Deeks trailed off, lost in thought.

"I don't talk about my wife too much out here. It reminds me way too much of home. I just feel like the two should be separate, you know? Oliver was like that as well," Keelson's voice lowered just a little at the end, choking on a sob the marine tried to suppress.

"I'm sorry for your loss. I wish there was more I could have done for him, but I'm not much of a soldier."

"I'm sorry too. If I could change things, I would in a second."

"He knows that you did your best. You worked tirelessly in his last hours to keep him alive, and it made it that much easier knowing that he had somebody like you watching his back."

Keelson smiled sadly, staring off into space with his dark eyes. "You're a good man, Marty Deeks. Kensi's lucky. How long have you two been together?"

"Not long. A little over a month. Right before she was reassigned, actually."

"Sucks."

"Yeah, it did."

"My wife, Hailey, and I weren't together long before my first tour either. We eloped before I left. Just in case something were to happen to me, we didn't want to wait another seven or eight months before I came home."

Deeks was enjoying the time with the marine to take his mind off of their dire situation at the moment. For a second, they could pretend that they were old friends talking over a couple of drinks instead of two weathered and battle-tested men running from the most violent terrorists in the world.

"How did you and your wife meet?" Deeks inquired, reaching for Kensi's hand. She was mumbling something unintelligible and tossing in sleep. He intertwined their fingers, drawing soothing shapes on her soft skin, trying to calm her down.

"Oliver introduced us at graduation from the Naval Academy. I owe him for a lot. Everything." They stayed silent for a moment, Deeks not knowing what to say. "What about you two? Working in the same building?"

Deeks laughed for a long moment before answering, "nah, we're on the same unit in Los Angeles…partners actually. The first time we met, I was undercover on assignment for LAPD, and she for NCIS. We both were looking at each other as suspects."

Keelson chuckled too. "Then how did you come to work for the Navy?"

"Our director thought that we needed more coordination between the two agencies, so a liaison officer was going to be assigned. Our operations manager, Hetty Lange, approached me and asked."

"Wait, you work for Hetty?" Quinn asked in disbelief.

"Yeah…" Deeks trailed off, wordlessly asking him to elaborate.

"How's that?"

"Interesting. Very interesting," he answered. After a moment, his eyebrows furrowed in thought, "Frustrating sometimes, though."

"How so?" Keelson asked, bringing his knees to his chest.

"She's the one who reassigned Kensi, which none of us were really happy about."

"Did you know where she was?"

"Nope," Deeks replied, popping the 'p', shaking his head. "Not until Granger briefed us on the plane. This white ghost guy…do you think he'll rear his ugly head any time soon?"

Keelson shrugged. "Depends on how desperate they are, and how intent they are about killing us. Why?"

"Because when we get our butts out of the city alive, I just want to take Kensi home," Deeks truthfully answered. Once they touched down in Los Angeles, Deeks wanted to leave Afghanistan behind them and focus on the wonderful Christmas they were going to have. Maybe they would invite Kensi's mom over to his place, so Deeks and her could formally meet without a case standing between them. Just a quiet morning with lots of pancakes and finely wrapped presents, with as many bows as Deeks could fit on the packages.

He grinned ear to ear at the thought. Deeks had always prided himself with how nicely he decorated his apartment for the holidays. With Kensi by his side, decorating the tree with ginger bread in the oven, it would make it a thousand times sweeter.

"Do you think we made the right choice in letting Sigara go on his own?" Keelson asked.

Deeks had almost forgotten about him, he had been so wrapped up in Kensi. "We couldn't do a whole lot to stop him."

"Yeah, but I think we should have tried harder."

"He was threatening us."

"That may be so, but I have this bad feeling that it's going to bite us in the ass later."

The two of them ended the conversation on that pleasant note, anxiously watching the time tick away. Deeks never thought that the minutes could fly by so quickly. It was almost like he was back in high school, watching the time fly until the end of the day. Only he wished desperately it would slow down.

Deeks could hear the street outside growing steadily busy. He imagined families would be mingling around the market, kids pulling on their arms impatiently. But then he had to remind himself that they were in such a place where every man, woman, and child were afraid to step outside their home.

Suddenly, the door was thrown open. Deeks jumped up, expecting to see Sam and Callen. He was sorely disappointed when a ten-year-old boy whisked past him and ran directly for the farmer. The detective didn't pay much attention to them talking, and returned his focus on Kensi. Almost as quickly as he had come, the boy sprinted out of the apartment again.

The farmer who was driving them out of the city tentatively approached Keelson, and they began conversing in the native language, something which Deeks didn't understand a word of. By the sound of it though, they were arguing. And _that _wasn't good. After what seemed like forever, it finally ended. But Deeks knew it didn't end how Keelson wanted it to, judging by his resigned expression.

"What is it?" Deeks question, voice rising.

"He says we need to leave."

"We can't! It's only eleven!"

"The boy said that the terrorists are barging down doors, and they will be here soon. We need to leave."

Deeks felt like screaming. He was extremely tempted to, but managed to keep his mouth shut, at a loss for words. The emotion that came over wasn't one that he felt frequently. Desperation.

"Alright, let's get moving. I'll help, and then stay behind."

"Deeks-"

"My decision's final," Deeks firmly stated. Turning his attention away from Keelson, Deeks reached down beside Kensi's head, gently shaking her shoulder.

"Hey, Fern. We gotta get moving."

"Hmm?" she moaned, barely able to get the words out of her mouth. Jeez, Kensi was really sick.

"Come here," Deeks whispered, gathering her up in his arms. Once she was securely tucked against his chest, Keelson throwing the packs over his shoulder, and the farmed waiting by the door, they were off. The man checked to make sure the coast was clear before stepping outside. The side-street was quiet, but Keelson and Deeks jumped quickly in the back of the cart.

Quinn pried the fake flooring out of it's place. "I'll be back. I have to grab the other bag and pay my respects to a fallen brother, alone."

Deeks nodded at him. He had a good-bye (temporary) of his own to say. The surfer forced himself into a kneeling position, still precariously holding Kensi, who was slowly waking up. He lowered her into compartment, and just gazed at her for a moment.

"De-eks?" Her voice was cracking so much, it butchered his name into two syllables.

"Yes, my Princess Kensalina?"

"We're almost home?"

Deeks smiled. "Well, you're right here, so as far as I'm concerned, I'm home." He placed a feather-light kiss to her forehead. "Be safe, okay sugarbear?"

"I thought I told you not to call me that once-upon-a-time-ago," she commented, tired brown eyes meeting his.

"Once-upon-a-time-ago, we were pretending to be something that we've already become now…so I think you might have to remind me," Deeks teased.

"Come with us?" she pleaded.

"You know why I can't."

"I do. I just wish we didn't have to keep saying good-bye," Kensi's eyes were glazed over, tears threatening to spill over.

"This isn't good-bye. We've never said good-bye. Remember, you left before giving me one? I took that as a sign that you were coming back soon."

"Be safe."

"Always."

"See you tonight?"

Deeks felt a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "See you tonight." He heard the flap of the cart brush open and he asked. "Get the back, Keelson?"

For a moment, Keelson didn't reply. Then the voice answered certainly wasn't the one that Deeks was expecting.

"Who's Keelson?"

Deeks whipped around, holding a protective arm over Kensi, eyes widening at the new-comer.

**Who has joined them in the cart? xD I'm sorry- I love torturing you guys with cliffhangers. I know, I'm terrible :) I'll update soon, but probably not tomorrow because I'm hosting a party. On another note, I just thought I'd give a little bit of insight about where this story is heading. It's a little over two thirds done, so no, it's not going to be nearly as long as A Mission's Wake. **

**Another thing. I'm going to finish this story before my break is over. I have mid-terms to study for at the end of January which will consume most of my time. During break as well, I want to get the idea for my next story to write and start it, so I can post occasionally during that three week period. But for me to do that- I request something of the readers- let me know what kind of story you want to see next! Please PM me or leave a review. :) Thank you for all of your kindness and the personal landmark- 200 followers!**


	12. A Traitor's Face

**Author's Note:**

**Hey guys! So-maybe I lied a little. Here we go, chapter twelve! Thank you for all of your kind reviews!**

**-C**

"Calm down there, Shaggy. You don't have to protect her from us," Sam assured, eyeing how Deeks threw himself in front of her instantly.

"Who's going to protect Kensi from _him_?" Callen jumped in. Leave it to the two of them to have fun with their junior team members even in the most precarious of situations.

The smile was lost, as Sam took a better look at the both of them, Deeks moving to the side so Kensi could easily see her surrogate brothers. He commented, "You guys look like crap."

"Well, we tried looking for a salon to freshen up, but the Taliban on our heels distracted us a little," Deeks quipped, rising to his feet. He couldn't have been more relieved at seeing the two of them here.

With all joking aside, Sam grabbed Deeks into a tight hug. Through all of the laughter and good-natured banter, every single person here knew that they were extremely worried about them.

"You okay?" Callen asked as the Navy SEAL and detective separated.

"Could be better," Kensi added from the compartment.

"What happened to you?"

"Just a scratch," she smiled sadly.

"Yeah. Okay," Sam disbelievingly said. "Deeks?"

"She was shot above the hip. We patched her up, but Keelson thinks that she's showing sign of infection," he relayed, eyeing Kensi with worry.

"And I repeat, who's Keelson?"

"That would be me," a new voice joined them from the back of the cart. Sam and Callen spun, facing the tall marine. "Captain Quinn Keelson."

"Sam Hanna, and this is G Callen, NCIS," Sam reached out a hand.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, but we really have to get going."

Keelson hoisted himself up and threw the pack into the compartment next to Kensi.

"Hold up. Where's the rest of you?" Callen questioned, raising his eyebrows.

"It's only us," Deeks solemnly said. "All the others were killed."

"Except for First Lieutenant Daniel Sigara. He thought he had a better chance on his own, so he left us," Keelson added. "But we also have a problem. Three people can barely fit in here. There's five of us."

"We'll figure something out. Meanwhile, tell the farmer to start moving," Callen suggested. With a nod, Keelson ducked back out of the wagon.

"He's right. This isn't going to be easy," Sam mumbled, examining the small compartment.

"But not impossible. What if Kensi lay on top of me? We're the two smallest people here, we could fit like that. Then Callen might have to be on his side, and you and Keelson on your backs because you're bigger than he his," Deeks said.

"It'll have to do. It's not like we have much of a choice in the matter," Callen agreed.

Suddenly, the cart lurched forward, and Keelson jumped through the back again.

"I hope you guys have something worked out," the marine commented, holding onto the roof for balance.

"Deeks, you and Kensi get settled in first," Sam said.

And with that, he climbed in on the other side of the compartment, tucking against the side as much as he could. When he was sure that if he pulled himself any closer to the wood that it would break, Deeks beckoned Kensi to get into position. It took a while due to her weak state, but she managed to lay directly on top of him.

Jeez, she was burning with a fever. Deeks could feel the heat radiating off of her skin. He wrapped his arms around ribcage, above the wound, so she was secure. Sam followed in next to them, then Keelson, and then Callen. It was certainly tight, with body parts jamming into some pretty uncomfortable places, but when they pulled the hatch over, they were hidden completely.

Deeks breathed a sigh of relief. They stayed ghostly silent the entire ride, even though the air was soon turning foul with five breaths mingling together. They were actually going home. The cart was moving slowly, the occasional bump jostling them.

Finally, they must have reached the city gate, because the cart was stationary for several minutes.

_We're almost there. Just a few hundred feet more, and everything will be fine, _Deeks thought. Any Christmas ideas ran through his head freely, making him grin wildly despite the fact he was surrounded on four sides. Thank goodness he wasn't claustrophobic. Otherwise this would really suck.

Despite Kensi's extreme body heat rolling off of her in waves, she was shivering. Not a good sign. Deeks wasn't a doctor or a medic like Keelson, but he knew when that happened, a person was really sick. He couldn't help but hold on a little tighter and wait for the men to search the cart.

Wait.

Nobody was searching the wagon.

Had they gotten past the checkpoint without a search, or-

Any of Deeks's thoughts were interrupted rudely by the hatch being ripped off of it's hinges. The detective couldn't see what was going on, didn't know if it was friend or foe, but certainly identified his racing heartbeat that came with fear. Fear for his family.

The weight of Sam pushing up against him disappeared abruptly, so Deeks slid Kensi off of him to see what was going on.

He had hoped he would see a friendly face.

What he got was the barrel of a semi-automatic rifle.

Deeks immediately went for a move of knocking the barrel to the right, the first stage in disarming a hostile. He was about to twist the wrist of the terrorist before a sickening click was heard. The detective froze, and turned to see where the sound had come from.

A man with dark skin, a clean shaven face, and a cunning smile was holding a gun directly to Kensi's temple while he had her trapped in a headlock. Immediately, Deeks released his hands from the enemy's weapon, and raised his hands above his head.

Her captor said something that Deeks couldn't catch because of language barriers. The terrorist, realizing this, spoke again in distorted English, "Up."

Deeks silently rose to his feet and stepped out of the now-empty compartment, dread weighing his heart down. Terrifying adrenaline coarsed through his veins, seemingly tearing each open with knives. The man Deeks attacked shoved him forward, and outside of the cart.

He blinked to the blinding midday light, spots dancing in front of his eyes. Sam, Callen, and Keelson were being held at gun point about fifteen yards way from the mules that dragged the wagon behind it. Deeks twisted his head over his shoulder, trying to see if Kensi was coming up. Sure enough, a moment later, two men dragged her out by the arms.

The threw her into the dust, but she was too weak to push herself up. Deeks tried to make a run for his partner. The terrorist shoved him back forward.

"Are these the men?" He heard a nearby voice asking as he was marched towards Sam, Callen, and Keelson.

He detected the source of it.

A tall man with a medium complexion donning a black buzz cut was in the face of none other than First Lieutenant Daniel Sigara. He had bruised face and battered body, but Deeks felt no sympathy for him. His hands were unbound, leading the detective to think that Sigara was working for them.

Deeks felt this rush of unexplainable anger towards the marine.

_How dare he. _Turn against his brothers, the people whom he served to protect. It made Deeks feel this kind of disdain that he's never quite grown to know before. Perhaps spending time with Keelson and watching Oliver die right before his eyes made him feel more protective than anything. It was this same protectiveness that Deeks wanted to wring the guy's throat for putting Kensi in danger.

"That's them," Sigara confirmed, not looking any of them in the eye.

"You traitor!" Keelson shouted in anguish, fighting against the men that were trying to constrain him. "Our friends died for you, and this is how you honor them!?"

Sigara didn't answer, only looked to the man who had questioned him earlier.

All of their fates lay in the hands of a madman. One that had no qualms about killing another to get what he wanted or justifications for the actions that promoted his cause.

Deeks clenched his hands.

If this terrorist was planning on killing them, he wouldn't go down without a fight.

**Filler chapter, but my party ended and I had some extra time. It went great! But my friend (who's sleeping over) and I are super, UBER pissed because we were craving chicken wings at about two in the morning. So we texted one of my older brother's friends to go to McDonalds, and he said he was going to, but then completely was messing with us. Ugh! Teenage boys make me sick! :) Well, certain ones that promise chicken and then don't actual do it. Dammit.**


	13. Target Down and Friends Fallen

**Author's Note:**

**Guys, the response on this story is still blowing my mind. I'm dedicating this chapter to three amazing people on here: ****classof7teen,****ncisnewbie****, and ****NCISVILLE****. I owe you guys, and thanks for all of the help. Thank you all for the support! And without further ado, I present the next chapter.**

**-C**

* * *

Deeks crawled through the carnage, leg stinging. It was faint compared to the mounting pain of worry. He had to find Kensi and the others. His left leg awkwardly dragged behind him and bumped against something soft. With a gulp, the blond detective realized it was a body.

Although his vision was still slightly blurry, he thought he could make out a familiar form in the dust. Before Deeks could reach another inch for the figure, there was the unmistakable click of a gun and the cliché bang that followed, right before Deeks's head slammed against the ground.

**One Hour Earlier**

"Load them into the trucks," the lead terrorist ordered. Deeks felt his raised arms being forced behind his back and then secured tightly with a zip tie. He still couldn't believe this was happening, the unfairness of it all. But the self-loathing feeling was quickly replaced with a searing rage for Daniel Sigara.

Deeks watched with horror as Kensi was hoisted to her feet roughly and marched over to where the rest of the men were waiting. He could see her face was ghostly pale. She was trying to walk on her own, but the enemy was moving her too quickly for he to be able to keep up.

He wanted to make sure that they wouldn't hurt her anymore, but he was forced in a line behind Sam, Callen, and Keelson. With a barrel of a gun jamming against his spine, they were marched into the back of the cargo truck. The middle was empty, but benches lined either side. The four of them were herded into the very back, where several terrorists had their eyes boring into them, guns ready to fire at any second.

Not a moment later were they joined by Kensi, who was practically thrown onto the bench next to Deeks. Although there was little he could do with his hands tied behind his back, he readjusted his body so her head would fall a little more comfortably on his shoulder.

"We'll be okay," Deeks reassured her, even though he needed some himself.

"I know," she replied, voice raspy.

"How are you feeling?"

She took a shaky breath, boring her head into his shoulder, eyes barely open before replying, "better now."

"Stay with me, got it?"

She nodded against his skin, and even so he could feel how weak it was. If Kensi didn't get help in the next few hours...there would be worse things for Deeks to think about than the terrorists who had captured them.

The truck lurched forward, and then began driving. Keelson was tucked next to Deeks uncomfortably on the right, while Sam and Callen were on the other side. Suddenly, when a thought crossed Deeks's mind, the situation seemed a lot less dire.

He turned his head towards Keelson and whispered, "before we left, didn't Mallory say that she'd be watching the city?"

Keelson's eyes seemed to light up, "That she did. If we came out-"

"They would have seen us," Deeks marveled, trying to conceal a smile. For now, they couldn't let their enemy think that they had a winning chance.

He was silenced by a threat by one of the men sitting next to Callen. The terrorist was shouting in his native tongue, but the message was clear: shut up. Taking his baby blues off of the man, Deeks turned to his attention towards Sam, who was raising an eyebrow in a silent question.

Not knowing how to alert Callen and Sam to the pending plan of action, Deeks noticed that both of the senior agent's attention were focused to the left and down of the detective. Following their gaze, he saw Kensi blinking at them erratically.

Morse code. His girlfriend was a genius.

Deeks didn't know it himself, but he had a pretty good guess that he was spelling out Mallory's name. Callen gave them a short nod in understanding, so small that Deeks wasn't even sure if he saw it correctly.

The truck rumbling on for a painfully long time, though in hindsight, it was probably fifteen minutes or less. If Mallory and her company were going to come, then why hadn't they attacked the caravan already?

Suddenly, it began to slow, setting off warning bells in Deeks's head. Before he had time to think, they were all forced to their feet once more and half-pushed outside. They were in the middle of what looked like a town square for a annexing suburb. An old man herded goats a couple yards away from the truck, and Deeks caught the eye of a younger woman drawing the make-shirt curtain on a second-story building, which was the tallest in the area. The city was a ways off, they must have been driving faster than Deeks initially thought to get this far.

But this wasn't just a suburb or small square. It was obviously one of the operating bases for the White Ghost. The patrolling men on the roof-tops was a dead give away. Looking around at the scenery, Deeks could also deduce that they had come to the other side of the city, by the mountains.

The five of them were brought into one of the buildings, which was really just a large room with nothing in it except for two chairs, one of which was missing a leg and was lying on its side. They were left alone for a moment, but the sound of the door bolting from the outside could clearly be heard.

"They probably have the room bugged," Callen observed, looking around. Deeks immediately took the team leader's silent warning. If they were to slip that there was a chance that Lieutenant Colonel Mallory Rider could be aware of their capture, that was once advantage that they could not waste.

Unsteady, Kensi lowered herself to the ground. Her forehead was drenched with sweat, obviously exhausted from the journey. It pained Deeks to see her in such agony, especially when she hated feeling dependent and restricted, which is exactly what her state was putting her in.

Before Deeks could offer to see her wound, the door was flung open, and four men entered. One was somebody they hadn't seen before, holding a wicked blade. The detective swallowed and his mouth went dry. Two of them were Sigara and the lead terrorist that was waiting outside the city for them. The last one, Deeks didn't need to be told who it was. He had a pretty good idea for himself.

The newcomer without the blade was tall with a medium build, wearing cargo pants, combat boots, and a fitted gray shirt. His dark hair was slicked back, and had a finely clipped beard. Most of his face was hidden by aviators.

In perfect English, he spoke, "My name is Aariz Mohsin, but I believe that to you, I am better known as the White Ghost. I also believe that you are the soldiers that are causing me so many troubles."

Sigara scoffed, "Not even marines. Most of them are U.S. Federal Agents."

"Did I ask you to speak?" Mohsin growled. Deeks just stared at him from across the room. He was crouched next to Kensi, who was on the verge of consciousness. The others were standing, having a staring contest with the new arrivals.

The familiar look of fear flashed across the traitor's face, and he simply cleared his throat in apology.

"Who are they?" Mohsin continued, drumming his fingers against his side-arm.

"Sir, meet Captain Quinn Keelson of the United States Marine Corps, Detective Marty Deeks, working for NCIS, his partner, Kensi Blye. I do not know the others. They were not with us, but she was sent here to kill you."

"They sent a pretty thing like you, to kill me?" Mohsin repeated in disbelief.

Kensi lifted her head in defiance, and for just a moment, it looked as if all traces of sickness were gone. "Not just kill you. To put a hole the size of my fist in the back of your skull with my tactical rifle's 7.62 millimeter round's name on it. Mark 8. It would have liquefied the brain."

Mohsin had the nerve to laugh. He pulled the aviators off his face, tucking it into his shirt. The White Ghost stared at Kensi for a long moment, his large obsidian eyes reading her expression. However, one of his eyes (or what was left of it) was utterly bloodshot with nasty burn marks surrounding it.

He approached Kensi, making Deeks's blood boil. Sam put his left leg up against Deeks's side, seemingly being able to tell how much the blond was tensing up. It was all the SEAL could do since he was still standing with his hands tied behind his back. Mohsin had a cocky sneer plastered onto that face of his as he got closer.

"Do you know what men in this country do to women who speak out of turn?" He knelt and got so close to her, that Deeks could smell his ugly breath. _"_Just like all of the other Marines that came through here…_we kill them."_

Deeks lurched, and if it hadn't been for Sam's quick reaction in shoving his leg in front of the detective, he would be throttling the terrorist at the moment.

Mohsin's good eye flicked between Kensi and Deeks, as if being able to read right into them. He stood, and backed away for a moment while speaking. Sam took his leg away, confident that Deeks wouldn't make a stupid move again…or attempt one.

"Lucky for you and your boyfriend, I was born in America, and do not follow all rules of this country." Mohsin whipped around to face Kensi again. "But I do feel it is necessary to put a bitch in her place."

Even in full health, Kensi never would have been able to stop the blow that was coming. Deeks wasn't even sure if he saw it correctly at first, but the kick to Kensi's gun shot wound and her cry of pain was enough to send Deeks into a blind rage.

Animal-like, the detective launched himself at the White Ghost with such a ferocity that no amount of Sam's strength would have been able to stop him. One moment, Deeks was wrestling with Aariz Mohsin, and then the next, he was being dragged away by two of his men. He had landed a couple of well-placed kicks at the man, but it wasn't nearly satisfying enough for Deeks.

Now on the opposite side of the room, Aariz Mohsin nodded at one of the men holding Deeks. Suddenly, a blade was at his throat.

"NO!" Kensi screamed, but the blow never came.

Louder than her cry was a high-pitched whine that made everybody freeze on the spot. An explosion from above left the roof caving on them in an explosion of heat and sound. As the immense weight crashed on them, Deeks fell into the darkness.

* * *

The first thing Deeks felt when coming to was the agonizing pain in his left calf. Buried underneath all the wood and rubble, he wasn't sure which way was up and what as down. Muffled gun fire echoed all around. Reaching up with his arm that wasn't pinned underneath him, Deeks was able to push some of the boards away, revealing the blinding Afghanistan sun. He quickly fought to unbury himself, for he still couldn't move. The detective felt the weight leaving his body has progress was made, and finally he could pull himself into a sitting position.

Looking at his leg, Deeks almost got sick. The blade that was previously being held to his neck had a couple of centimeters of it's tip embedded into the back of his calf. Gripping the blade, he yanked it out of his leg with a grunt of pain. For the first time since unburying himself, Deeks noticed that his hands were no longer tied. The cord must have been severed when the building came down.

Only half of the room was still intact, and nobody was left in it. Not knowing how long he had been out of it, Deeks worked to crawl into the street. Well, the street that had become a war zone.

A helicopter was hovering above, cutting down terrorists that were attempting at firing back. Deeks didn't see any marines in the immediate area, but saw a couple of incoming Humvees a while off.

Somebody he didn't see was Kensi. Or the others for that matter. He tried to think like her for a moment. If the building came down, then Sam and Callen would immediately look to join in the fight, but they would stow her somewhere.

Kensi needed immediate help. Her surrogate brothers would want her to be found by the marines first thing. So naturally, they would have pulled her into a building at the end of the square, from the direction where Point Eaglestrike was.

Deeks tried to stand, the agony in his leg growing. He limped a few yards before collapsing again. None of the remaining men were really paying attention to him. They were too busy trying to take down the helicopter and the marines rappelling down from it. Deeks forced himself up, but once more, didn't last all that long on his feet. The square was becoming eerily quieter aside from the helicopter's rotors.

He thought he saw Keelson wrestling with a terrorist for his weapon. Deeks needed to reach the marine, because for a scary moment, it looked as if the enemy might win. His vision was slowly deteriorating, a sign that he was going to lose consciousness.

Deeks crawled through the carnage, leg stinging. It was faint compared to the mounting pain of worry. He had to find Kensi and the others after helping Keelson. His left leg awkwardly dragged behind him and bumped against something soft. With a gulp, the blond detective realized it was a body. Once turning his head back to where Keelson and the other terrorist was, he realized with a pang of horror that the two of them were no longer there.

Although his vision was still slightly blurry, he thought he could make out a familiar form in the dust. Before Deeks could reach another inch for the figure, there was the unmistakable click of a gun and the cliché bang that followed, right before Deeks's head slammed against the ground.

He expected to feel pain before dying, but it never came. Deeks turned to find Aariz Mohsin lying in the dirt a few inches away. He was bleeding profusely from a well-aimed head shot. The terrorist's fingers will still gripped tightly around the gun that would have ended his life.

Directly behind Deeks stood Kensi, weapon still raised. With a shaky breath she said, "I told him I'd put a hole in his head."

She stumbled over to Deeks, but fell in the last couple of feet. He reached her in two seconds flat, still fighting sinking into unconsciousness. Her would was overflowing with blood. Deeks quickly put two firm hands against it, trying to stop the stream of vermillion.

He was so absorbed with Kensi, Deeks didn't notice how the shooting had stopped. Or how Sam and Callen were now next to him. Or how marines were shouting at one another.

"Clear!"

"Enemies neutralized!"

"Target down, target down!"

Mallory Rider in full fatigues ran over to them, crouching next to Kensi to look Deeks in the eye. "Med Evac's on it's way. We can take over if you want."

He nodded without saying a word, letting another marine hold a cloth to her side. Kensi's eyes were fluttering open and shut, but she kept them open just long enough to ask, "Is it over?"

Deeks sighed, and even managed a small smile. "It's over."

"Where's our White Ghost?" Callen inquired. His face was streaked with dirt and blood, but Deeks seriously doubted it was his own.

The detective held Kensi's hand tightly. "Our girl here put a bullet with her name on it in the back of that asshole's head."

Despite the situation, Sam and Callen managed a laugh. Even for a moment, Deeks could have sworn that Kensi joined in. Just as Mallory promised, another helicopted approached them from the ridgeline over the mountain. Deeks stole a glance away from his favorite partner in the world and saw that the marines were returning from checking the buildings and were gravitating towards the Liutenant Colonel.

"Who else is alive from the unit sent into the city?" Rider questioned.

"Just Keelson, Kensi, and Sig-" Deeks cut himself off. "Where's Sigara?"

"My men are taking care of him. And the others?"

"I'm sorry, Lietuenant Colonel," Sam stepped in, clapping the marine on the back. Mallory had an empty look in her eyes that was very uncharacteristic of her. She buried her face in one of her hands and exhaled deeply. Her moment was interrupted by the landing of the helicopter. Immediately, a stretcher was run over to the small group.

"See you tonight?" Kensi asked weakly. The marines had lifted her up quickly enough and secured the belts.

"Yeah," Deeks nodded. He physically couldn't force himself up the world was spinning so much.

"Deeks, your head is bleeding," Callen said in alarm.

He couldn't reply, for finally, knowing that Kensi was safe, Deeks allowed the sweet pull of unconsciousness to take over.

**Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everybody! Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter to come soon :)**


	14. Intrepid

**Author's Note:**

**Hey all, I hope everybody had a safe and very happy holiday. I want to dedicate this chapter to many people. First, to NCISVILLE, ncisnewbie, and classof17. Check out their stories, I follow multiple of them for each. Secondly, I want to dedicate this chapter to anybody who's having a tough time out there. Trust me, I get you, and I do hope it gets better :) That's my holiday wish for all of you. Thank you all for the wonderful support.**

**-C**

* * *

Deeks drummed his fingers against the side of the car anxiously. Callen, who was driving, was obeying all traffic laws and therefore not speeding up their journey. Damn the cursed Los Angeles traffic. Sam and Callen, taking mercy on the liaison officer, decided to take the team leader's car so nobody was stuck in the back of the challenger. None of that mattered to Deeks, though. The only thing that mattered was seeing Kensi again. After all, once they had been evacuated for medical treatment, they were kept separate. He remembered the day well.

* * *

_When Deeks woke up, he was aware of several things. One of them, he was no longer surrounded by the dirt, dust, and grime of Afghanistan. Instead, he was in a small, compact bed with thin (and slightly scratchy) sheets. His head was pounding violently, and for several minutes the room was still spinning. When the room became detailed in his eyes, he could see that he walls were a steel gray, and there was a single man wearing a lab coat hovering over a desk._

_Finally, he noticed the relatively large man sitting next to him. Sam was flicking through the messages on his phone. Confusion overwhelmed Deeks. Where were they? Where was Kensi? Why was he lying in a hospital bed?_

_He opened his mouth to speak, but it was too dry. It took him a moment before he was able to choke out, "Sam."_

_At the single word, the Navy SEAL shoved his phone to the side and met the detective's eyes. "Here, drink this." He handed Deeks an unopened water bottle from table behind him._

_The cooling drink quickly eradicated the parched feeling, but his throat was still relatively dry and stung a little every time he sucked in air. "Kensi?"_

_Sam sighed, "Safe. She's getting treated for a severe case of sepsis in Germany. She almost didn't make it, but you know our girl."_

_"And if she's in Germany, then where are we?"_

_"On the U.S.S. Intrepid. We're just south of the border of India and Pakistan."_

_"What happened?"_

_"When the roof collapsed, you were knocked unconscious, yes? Well, you have a serious concussion. Doctor was surprised you stayed awake for as long as you did. Since Kensi and Keelson were more hurt than you, they immediately flew them for treatment in Berlin once ensuring the both of them were stable for air travel. The others, like yourself, were flown to our nearest naval ships."_

_Deeks nodded in understanding. Jeez, his head hurt. "When can we leave for Germany?"_

_Sam sighed. "We're not."_

_"What!?" Deeks sat straight up in bed, infuriated. "I don't see her for a month, and when we finally do, she's injured, and we're not even going to see her?"_

_"Deeks. She's getting treatment, and as soon as the doctors deem her healthy enough for the long flight, Kensi will be moved to L.A. You'll see her in the next day or so."_

* * *

Sam and Deeks didn't leave the U.S.S. Intrepid for another thirty six hours due to the serious concussion that the blond surfer had suffered. Although air travel was permitted to leave Afghanistan, the doctor advised them to wait an extra day. Deeks had begrudgingly stayed.

Callen had left the aircraft carrier several hours before Deeks had woken up to go be with Kensi. They figured that at least one of their team members should be with her at the hospital, but that didn't make Deeks any less annoyed.

* * *

_"I really should be with her," he had crossed his arms in defiance._

_The Navy SEAL next to him had the nerve to laugh at his persistence, "You must have damaged your hearing as well, because I could have sworn the doctor told you to wait another twelve hours."_

_"I'm fine."_

_"Says the guy that fainted on the battle field," Sam teased with a light chuckle. Deeks knew that he was only trying to cheer him up._

_"I didn't _faint_," Deeks insisted._

_"Then what do you call collapsing and being non-responsive?"_

_The detective gave him a long look. "Passing out? Losing consciousness?"_

_"Is there a difference?" _

_"Yes! Losing consciousness cannot be described as fainting. They're two completely different things."_

_"Okay, Deeks."_

_"It's true!"_

_"Would you like me to grab a thesaurus?" Sam offered, laughing at the detective's fight._

_"So our math star is now also an English freak," Deeks muttered under his breath, throwing his head back against the pillow in exasperation. He will never win against Callen or Sam, but he still pursues victory with them in the ever-happening banter war._

_"H-how did you know about that?" Sam stuttered. "G and I had that conversation."_

_"If you want things to stay secret between the two of you, then don't talk so loudly," Deeks quipped._

_"Oh you're one to talk."_

* * *

Deeks couldn't help but smile in the car now on the way to the hospital. He was expecting the 'over-protective big brother talk' for a while, even though the surfer never confirmed or denied anything with the senior agents. In the back of his mind, Deeks had known it was no use.

* * *

_"What's that supposed to mean?" Deeks questioned, voice growing serious. Out of the corner of his eye, the detective noticed that a doctor tending to a sick sailor was giving them a strange look._

_"You know exactly what I mean," Sam half-berated him. The Navy SEAL was fully aware of the fact that Deeks was plenty smart enough to realize the direction that this conversation was taking._

_"Go on," he encouraged, motioning with his hand. _

_"You and Kensi."_

_"Still don't know what you're talking about."_

_"Please, Deeks. The banter, the so-called 'arguing', the _flirting_," Sam continued, "It's a real miracle you two didn't get together sooner. Would have figured about nine months before, at least."_

_"Huh. That seemed specific."_

_"What?"_

_"You estimating when we would have started dating. That was way too exact to be pre-planned."_

_"It's just a random number!" Sam surrendered his arms up._

* * *

Deeks shook his head, remembering that whole conversation by the letter. How could he forget it? Sam and Callen finally began to notice that Deeks was laughing at something profusely funny, something that they weren't aware.

"Got anything you want to share?" Callen asked.

"Just remembered something."

"And what would that be?"

"Sam owes you money for the little bet you guys had," Deeks smiled, casting a glance at the SEAL in the backseat. Sam looked like he was going to throttle the detective at any second.

"He knows about that?" G directed the question disbelievingly towards his partner.

"Oh yeah. I'm a detective, I detect things. And I detected your little gambling ring you have going on at the office."

"It is _not _a gambling ring!" Sam insisted.

"Not what it sounded like…" Deeks trailed off.

* * *

_"Oh. My. God."_

_"Wherever you're going with this…" Sam tried to cut him off. Leave it to Deeks and his constantly-running mouth to pay no attention._

_"You guys have so been making bets on us."_

_"Now, Deeks-"_

_"Who's winning? How much?" He had no regard for the fact that he had successfully left Sam's mouth still agape, trying to find a way to defend his case._

_Sam sighed. "Eric lost first. Callen and Nell were still in, but we weren't exactly sure what was going on when Kensi was reassigned so it was put on hold. A hundred dollars in, plus the winner gets drinks bought by everybody else for a month."_

_Deeks hooted, his mood significantly soaring since when he had woken up._

* * *

"Oh, yeah, that's right, isn't it?" Callen grinned.

"Nell and you haven't worked it out yet, have you? Who really won?" Deeks inquired.

He shrugged, shifting his eyes back to the road as a car swerved in front of them. Callen slammed on the breaks, shoving his hand to the horn. The senior agent grumbled, "I hate teenage drivers."

"Have you?" the blond persisted.

"Doesn't matter. I can always take a deposit. Pay up, partner."

"No way in hell. I'm not giving you anything," Sam protested.

"Somebody is a bit sore about losing?" Callen teased.

With that, they fell into a comfortable silence. Deeks looked out the window and at the rising sun in the distance. He let a large yawn engulf his face. With the lack of sleep he had been getting lately, driving around this early wasn't having an unusual affect on him. Unfortunately, driving around at this hour also meant that they were caught in all of the commuter traffic.

"How much longer?" Deeks impatiently inquired.

"Somebody anxious much?" Callen asked.

"You would be too…" he muttered, rubbing his scruff, lost in thought.

"That reminds me. Did you give him 'the talk', Sam?"

"Oh absolutely. He knows that we have the perfect spot to dig a ditch for his body if he hurts her."

* * *

_"Okay, all joking aside," Sam began._

_"I hate where this conversation is going already," Deeks laughed, staring down at the medical bracelet they had stuck on him and fiddled with it._

_"Deeks."_

_"Fine."_

_"We've known Kensi for longer than you have. G and I haven't seen her happier than when she's with you. I know that you care for her a lot, and would never do anything intentionally to hurt her. But just in case-"_

_"You have my permission to deem any punishment necessary," Deeks interrupted. _

_Sam gave him a long look. "You're really serious about her, aren't you?"_

_"You have no idea."_

* * *

Deeks smiled to himself. The big brother talk didn't go as either of them had planned at all. But ultimately, the time spent on the aircraft carrier with Sam had only made their friendship stronger.

Finally, after what seemed like hours (but in fact, had only been about thirty minutes, which was still pretty good considering), the three of them pulled into the parking lot of Pacific Beach Medical.

He couldn't help but stare at the main entrance and shudder. It was in that spot where he watch as Kensi was almost taken away from him. Sam and Callen must have been thinking the same thing too, because the SEAL clapped him on the shoulder.

"What happened to everybody else after the White Ghost was eliminated?" Deeks inquired as the three of them got out of the car and made their way into the building.

"Mallory was able to secure the whole area, without any casualties on our side…which is amazing," Sam explained. "Most of the marines were given time to go home for the holidays since there wasn't a crisis anymore."

"I thought that servicemen and women couldn't go home like that," Deeks asked, confused.

Sam chuckled, "Mallory operates differently. Of course, she stayed there to wrap things up. Sigara was arrested, dishonorably discharged. He was never a traitor from the beginning, but when caught, tried to trade is life for yours. You should have seen how pissed Mallory was."

"And Keelson? You said that he was evacuated with Kensi, but what happened exactly?"

"Major brain injury. They had to put him in a medically induced coma for the swelling on his brain to go down," Sam added sadly.

"What can I do for you boys today?" An elderly nurse at the station asked. Her gray hair was pulled into a tight bun, and breath smelled strongly of the peppermint she was sucking on.

"We're looking for Special Agent Kensi Blye. She was flown in here from Berlin about an hour ago," Callen told the receptionist.

The nurse nodded, and typed some things into the computer. "Third floor, room fourteen."

"Thanks," Deeks expressed his gratitude, keeping on Sam and Callen's heels to the elevator. He couldn't help but tap his foot, urging to the elevator to move faster. Finally, he would be able to spend some alone time with Kensi without fear of getting shot at…hopefully.

At last, the elevator doors slid open to a relatively empty hallway. A single man on crutches went by without giving the men a second glance. With a deep exhalation of breath, Deeks led the way out of the elevator and to the door that had a clear number 'fourteen' on it.

Before rapping on it, he realized that Sam and Callen were slowly backing away.

"Aren't you guys coming in?" he asked.

"We thought we'd give you two some alone time. But don't take forever, we would like to see her as well sometime in the near future," Callen teased.

Deeks grinned at them.

Truly, he was lucky to be working with such a great group of people. Sure, they all had their differences, but at the end of the day, everybody knew that the others would protect their backs at any cost. Them giving Deeks this moment with her was more than he could have asked for.

"Thanks."

With that, he softly knocked on the door, waited a moment, and then walked in to find his beautiful partner half-asleep.

"You're late," she murmured.

* * *

**Note that the U.S.S. Intrepid is an actual aircraft carrier, but is decommissioned. It is currently the home of the Interpid Museum, also sponsoring a spacecraft and a submarine that you can go into, in New York City. I just used it in this...because why not?**


	15. Mission's Wake

**Author's Note:**

**I hope everybody had a happy and safe holiday and New Years! Please read my note at the bottom, but without further ado, here's the next chapter.**

**-C**

"You're late," Kensi murmured. Her voice was slightly shaky, but there was a noticeable improvement from when they last talked. Deeks's heart swelled when her mismatched eyes fluttered open.

The few days waiting on that aircraft carrier was one of the most painful experiences of his life. All Sam knew was that she was flown out to Germany, and there was no news of how she was doing other than she was alive. Then there was another twelve hour wait after him and Sam landed in Los Angeles and met Callen at the mission before Kensi could be visited in the hospital. And finally, seeing Kensi here knowing that her long and grueling mission was officially over was the best kind of relief.

He immediately shut the door behind him and half-ran to Kensi's side. She managed a small chuckle at his child-like excitement. Deeks pulled up a chair and took a seat, saying, "A detective is never late, nor is he ever early. He arrives precisely when he means too."

"_Lord of the Rings, _really? I thought all you watched were cheesy spy thrillers," Kensi teased, beaming a smile.

"I have an appreciation for the classics, unlike somebody with a reality-tv show addiction I know."

"Hey, I watch plenty of classic movies," she defended.

"_Titanic _doesn't count."

"It so does!"

"Nope. Sorry," Deeks laughed. As soon as the banter started again, the wide grins wound down to a small smile. They both knew that it was time to put the joking aside and actually talk.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, taking her hand. It felt so good to be able to touch her again. Just feel her skin on his. There was such an electricity there that he would never be capable of describing. Only Kensi would know, because she would have felt it as well.

She sighed, staring at their intertwined hands. "Obviously much better than how it was out in the field. They said I could go home in a few days."

"Well, that's good," Deeks commented, "but-"

"But that's not what you're referring to, is it?" Kensi inquired, seeking clarification as she met his eyes.

He shook his head no. Kensi exhaled, and replied, "Wasn't exactly fun. I replaced a guy who was decapitated upon capture, for one thing. Granger and his cordial attitude is always pleasant, as you know. And…I watched five marines die before my eyes. Some of them friends."

Deeks nodded in understanding. "I was there for a fraction of the time you were and some of the stuff I saw I will never be able to get out of my head. L-like Captain Davis dying," he stuttered. He felt burning behind his eyes as tears threatened to spill over. He would never be able to get the feeling of the man's pulse fading away out of his head. "If you need anything…all you have to do is tell me."

She gave his hand a squeeze. "I know. How are you dealing with all of this?"

"I'm just glad that you're back, honestly. Out of harm's way."

Kensi stifled a small laugh, "We're in danger twenty four hours a day with our jobs."

"Guess so," Deeks smiled.

"But I also don't have my partner watching my back in Afghanistan," she added.

"Mmm, just a partner?" Deeks shifted closer to her side. Because of the stupid guard rail and the height of the bed, he couldn't physically be nearer without climbing in the bed with her.

"Boyfriend," Kensi corrected with a grin, light dancing in her eyes.

Deeks rose, and planted a sweet kiss to her lips. He murmured against her skin, "I missed you. So. Much."

This time, she was the one to plant a peck to the corner of his mouth and reply, "me too."

They pulled away, Deeks standing at the side of her bed. "I'm sorry, we should have talked about this…thing before I, you know. I understand if you're feelings may have changed while we were away, and-" He was cut short by the sound of her laughing. Confusion filled Deeks's head. "And now you're laughing at me. I don't-"

"Thinking about you was the only thing that got me through, Deeks. I'm laughing because it's ridiculous for me to imagine otherwise."

Deeks beamed at her for a long moment. "We have to talk about Christmas and such, but I should get Sam and Callen. They're outside and anxiously waiting to see you."

He was halfway across the room before being stopped by Kensi saying, "Deeks?"

"Yeah, Kens?"

"Captain Oliver Davis, the marine who died from the stab wounds? He was one of the few people I was friends with. If all possible, I would like to go visit his pregnant wife and tell her what a hero he was." Kensi's eyes were glazed over with sadness as she spoke.

"Yeah. Sounds like a plan."

Deeks reluctantly left the room, but he took Sam and Callen's threat seriously. He returned to the waiting room, where the senior agents were talking lowly to each other. They barely noticed as Deeks walked over.

"You guys can go in if you want," he said.

Callen nodded at him, "thanks, Deeks. Listen, Eric, Nell, and Hetty are on their way up right now, but Hetty wants to talk to you."

Sam clapped Deeks on the shoulder as they walked past him. Not half a second later, he could hear the distinct ding of the elevator as it slid open. Out came Nell and Eric, followed by a slower-moving Hetty.

"Good to see you Deeks," Nell greeted with a smile, fist bumping him.

Eric brought him into a quick 'bro-hug', as it was called. They both looked at the detective, as if seeking his permission.

"Go on guys, she's been waiting to see you," he insisted. Deeks watched as the dynamic duo rushed into the room after Sam and Callen. He longed to be in there with his friends and Kensi.

"How's our girl doing?" Hetty asked, approaching Deeks with her hands clasped behind her back.

"Good, considering what she's been through. But you know Kensi, she'll be alright," Deeks answered.

"Glad to hear it, Mr. Deeks. I must commend you on your exemplary work in Afghanistan. Both Lieutenant Colonel Rider and Captain Keelson spoke highly of you."

Deeks shrugged. "I just did what I had to do."

Hetty smirked, "Modesty. A sign of a good man."

They stood in awkward for silence for a moment. For maybe the first time since knowing her, Deeks was sure that Hetty wasn't sure what to say. So he took the initiative.

"I'm sorry for our behavior on the mission with Thappa, more specifically mine. I promise that we will act more professionally from now on."

"Sunshine and gunpowder, Mr. Deeks. Sunshine and gunpowder," she said while walking towards Kensi's room.

Deeks managed a small smile, realizing what she meant. There would be difficulties, sure, but they could manage it. Sunshine and gunpowder. Something bright, something dark. That was who they were.

* * *

"You sure you're up for this, Kens?" Deeks asked as she climbed into the car with a wince. She was still sore from her stay at the hospital and the other acquired injuries from the mission. It was now December 22nd, the day after Kensi was released from the hospital and almost six weeks from when she departed in the first place.

"We have to, Deeks."

"I'm not arguing, but it's a seven hour drive to San Francisco."

"I'll be fine," Kensi insisted, smoothing down the wrinkles in her plaid shirt. Her hair was down and curly, just how Deeks liked it best.

Deeks eased his pick-up truck out of the driveway and got on the nearest highway that would take them up the coast and into San Francisco. It was really a beautiful drive, but was ruined by the uncomfortable silence that had settled between them.

"You good?" Deeks inquired for maybe the fifth time.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about the mission. I have debriefing tomorrow evening."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

She shook her head, biting her lip while staring distantly out of the window. "What happened to the other marines? I couldn't find out much while in Germany."

"Mallory stayed behind in Afghanistan, but most of the men at Point Eaglestrike were given the chance to go home for the holidays. Keelson was released from the hospital a day before you were."

"Did you hear he was shot in the knee during combat? I found that out while in Germany. He was expected to make a full recovery, but there wasn't any news otherwise."

Deeks nodded, "He has a long recovery ahead of him, but he's strong. He and his wife live in San Diego, we could probably check in on him before New Years."

Kensi agreed, "Definitely."

"Anyways, Sigara was dishonorably discharged, but will serve no jail time."

"What!? He's a traitor!"

Deeks shrugged, "It's not like I'm defending the guy, but he wasn't informing them until he got himself captured and was offered a deal for his life. It was because of my ultimatum did he leave."

"You're not feeling guilty, are you?" Kensi questioned.

"I don't know. If he had stayed maybe Captain Davis would be alive, and Keelson wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"And if he had stayed, we might all be dead."

"I guess," Deeks relented. He noticed a wide yawn from Kensi and added, "try to get some sleep. We have a long trip ahead of us."

**Okay, I am SO SORRY for how long this took, and how crappy this chapter is with that as well. I was occupied by relatives (who are still here) and festivities. Not to mention, I have never had as much trouble writing a chapter as I did this one. I'm STILL not satisfied with it, but I promise the next one will be better. **


	16. Eyes of a Child

**Author's Note:**

**Hey everybody! I felt so bad about not updating for a long time and then a really short chapter, so I hope this makes up for it- over three thousand words! Thank you again to everybody who reviewed- we reached past the number I had hit with A Mission's Wake, which amazes me! Unfortunately, there should only be about four more chapters after this, so I'm going to be wrapping it up soon.**

**-C**

Kensi woke up slowly, just wanting to sleep more. The gentle lull of the car going over the cracks in the road and the soft sun on her face was not helping. But Kensi knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore. It had been a miracle she had gotten any at all.

In Afghanistan, sleep was a luxury. Kensi used to think that with her crazy job in Los Angeles that the amount of shuteye she got every night was considered unhealthy. If that was the case, then the three to four hours she got overseas was considered self-destructing. One of the things Kensi was looking forward to most was being able to get back on a regular sleep schedule. Although that may seemed small and insignificant compared to being with Deeks, her mom, and the guys again, it played a huge factor in her mood and daily functions. 

She tried desperately to fall back asleep for the next ten minutes, but knew it wasn't going to work. The lull of the car's engine became annoying, and the steady cracks in the road that were once rhythmic were now jolting her out of her seat. Suddenly, the car slowed down significantly, turning several times until coming to a stop.

Kensi reluctantly opened her eyes, blinking against the light from outside. Had they arrived to Oliver's house so quickly? Looking around, she figured out that they had stopped at a roadside diner.

"Hey, you up for some lunch?" Deeks asked, tapping his finger on the dashboard clock. It was a little past one in the afternoon.

Before Kensi could answer, a growl from her stomach quickly filled the silence. They both looked at each other and started laughing.

"Guess that answers that question," Kensi remarked as they shut the doors to his pick-up truck.

Deeks wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders and led her to the diner. Inhaling deeply, Kensi smelled the sweet scent of salt air, a tell-tale sign that they weren't far from the ocean. That, and car exhaust. Their shoes crunched under the gravel, but it was near impossible to hear anything else over the roar of the highway.

As they walked up the ramp, Kensi couldn't resist the urge to walk as close to Deeks as possible. No doubt, he was her security. He requested a table for two to the hostess, and they were led to a booth by the window. They separated and sat across from each other, grabbing menus from the side of table.

"So, I thought now would be a good time to talk about Christmas," Deeks suggested.

"I'm good with spending it wherever or however you want," Kensi answered. "Doesn't matter to me as long as we're together, as cheesy as that sounds."

Deeks chuckled, "That was pretty bad, Fern."

"But true."

"Anyways, what about your mom? I thought you might have had plans with her already."

Kensi's eyes widened, fumbling for her phone in her pocket. "I didn't even tell my mom that I was home!"

"Kens-"

I guess I didn't tell her I left either," she added, mumbling. Kensi was dialing the number when Deeks finally was able to get her attention.

"I took care of that, Kens."

She paused, thumb about to press the 'talk' button. "You what?"

"I called her after you were reassigned and let her know you were away. I also called her the day you were flown into the U.S. She was on a skiing trip with some friends in Argentina, that's why she didn't get back in time to visit you."

Kensi stuffed the phone back into her pocket and said, "thank you."

He waved it off just in time for the waitress to walk over. She was a classic California girl, with the tan skin and curly blond hair stuffed into a high ponytail. "Welcome to Clara's, would you folks like something to drink?"

Deeks gestured to Kensi to go first. She immediately said, "Coffee, please."

"I'll have that too."

The girl wandered off, leaving them alone once again.

"So did my mom say anything else?" Kensi asked.

"Not really. She was worried about you, wanted to tell me that she loved you, and that she would be back for Christmas," Deeks answered, scanning the short selection of meals offered.

"She's probably going to invite us over for Christmas dinner."

"Wait, she knows about us?"

Kensi shrugged with a shy smile, "My mom has been encouraging it for a long time at this point. I know she's going to ask about you."

"Really?" Deeks inquired, raising an eyebrow. "I must have made quite an impression."

She laughed, saying, "Don't you always?"

It was then that the waitress returned with their drinks, setting them down on the table carefully. Once again, she pulled out the scribbled notepad to take their orders. "Are you two ready?"

"Yeah, I think we are," Kensi answered while glancing over at Deeks. "I'll take a bacon cheese-burger cooked medium rare."

"Pastrami on rye for me," Deeks said.

"Okay, should be about fifteen minutes, folks," she bounced away.

"Really, a bacon cheese-burger?"

"Hey, I haven't had any real food since the morning of the mission with Thappa," Kensi protested. "Those pancakes you made were amazing."

Deeks laughed, "What, you didn't get anything good at Point Eaglestrike?"

"Are you kidding? Mallory and I would skip meals occasionally because of how bad it was. That, then the hospital food, ugh. You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to a good old burger."

"Really?"

"I couldn't ever eat another energy bar. Those things were my meal for two days straight," Kensi made a disgusted face. "So anyways, back to Christmas."

"Sam was talking about having the team over on Christmas Eve for dinner the other day, and I was thinking of having New Years to ourselves."

"Busy holiday. Christmas Eve dinner at Sam's, Christmas morning with you, dinner that night at my mom's, and New Years together," Kensi remarked.

"Don't forget helping out at the shelter before going to your mom's," Deeks reminded her.

She smiled. Helping Deeks dish out Christmas dinner at the homeless shelter had been one of her favorite memories with him. Sure, it wasn't how she expected to spend the holiday that year, but no doubt it had been one of the best. All of the people working there were great, and of course playing around with Deeks in the kitchen had been the most fun she ever had. Chasing each other with dirty serving utensils, trying to have a food fight with the leftovers to be washed down the drain.

They were both lost in their own thoughts, no doubt recalling the same memory when the food was plopped down in front of them. Hungrily, Kensi immediately made a beeline for her burger and chewed slowly, savoring every last morsel in that gigantic bite.

"Hungry much?" Deeks teased.

"Quiet," Kensi deflected around a mouthful of food. Truly, it was hitting the spot. Famished from a long day of traveling, both of them polished off lunch in a matter of minutes.

"How much longer do we have on the road?" Kensi questioned once they paid the bill and were heading out the car.

"About an hour if the traffic's good. Now do you thank me for leaving so early in the morning?"

"Nope. I'm not a-"

"Morning person. Yes, Kensi. I know," Deeks threw a wide grin her way.

She shrugged as if saying, _Can I help it?_

Climbing into the shotgun seat of Deeks's truck, memories of her time in Afghanistan came flooding back. Now, she had to prepare what she was going to say to Oliver's wife. Truly, he was a good person and one of the few people she had grown to like on base.

Kensi thought back to all of the nights where Mallory, Oliver, Spencer, Keelson, and her played poker, and how the Lieutenant Colonel mercilessly won every game. On runs with the guys when they would race, and it would be a huge surprise when Kensi overshot them all. How Oliver had saved her ass on a patrol early on in her stay.

**Late November**

**Point Eaglestrike, Afghanistan**

"_Yo, Mallory! We need another man for a patrol. You up for it?" Spencer called as he poked his head through the door into the operational tent._

_Kensi and Lieutenant Colonel Rider were looking at a map of the White Ghost's previous targets on the screen. The auburn-haired marine checked her watch and with a groan shook her head._

"_Would love to, but I'm supposed to be on a debriefing call with Major General Hastings in a few."_

"_Dammit. Nobody seems to be available!"_

"_Hang on a sec, Spenc. You up for going on patrol, Kensi?"_

_She shrugged, "sure."_

"_Great, it would be good prep for you. Bring her back safely Spencer, we're going to need her."_

_With that, Kensi and Spencer walked towards the waiting humvee. Oliver tossed her a bulletproof vest and a helmet before she climbed into the vehicle. In a matter of minutes, they were driving through Afghanistan, watching for any sign of unusual activity._

"_Hang on a second, what's that?" Kensi asked, spotting the outline of something against the hill._

_Spencer, who was driving, said, "Not sure." _

_He drove closer to the object. As they neared, Kensi was able to see that it was an overturned fruit cart. Spencer brought the humvee to a halt._

"_Probably nothing," Daniel Sigara sneered from the back seat._

"_We should check it out," Kensi insisted. She looked through a pair of binoculars and saw something that made her heart drop. There was an older man trapped underneath it. Half of his body was underneath the cart, the other half splayed in awkward directions in the road. "There's somebody underneath there!"_

_She threw the binoculars to the side and hopped out of the stationary vehicle and approached the fruit cart warily with her gun raised. _

"_Kensi, wait!" Oliver protested. He was following behind her closely, green eyes trained on the man trapped underneath the wagon._

"_Help me with this," Kensi said as she swung her semiautomatic across her back and gripped the sides of the wood. She flipped it over with a great effort. _

_Suddenly, a massive force slammed into her from the side right as a gunshot went off. Dazed and feeling a sharp sting in her bicep, she hear another bang go off before there was silence._

"_You okay, Kensi?" Oliver asked, approaching the body of the man and kicking the man's rifle. The man who was supposedly in need was now lying dead with a hole in his head._

_She looked down to her bicep, which was bleeding. The bullet must have grazed her. _

"_If you hadn't seen the weapon, I would be dead," Kensi marveled, rising to a standing position._

"_We run into traps like these occasionally, I was just prepared for the worse."_

"_Still, you saved my life. Thank you."_

_Oliver shrugged. "Guess you owe me a beer."_

_They both laughed as Kensi said, "Yeah, I'll be sure to buy one on my way back from the clubs."_

_Spencer was beside them not a moment later asking, "What happened?"_

"_Bastard tried to kill us. We're good," Oliver explained._

"_We should get back to base. If he was already here, then there are bound to be more terrorists nearby."_

_Kensi nodded in agreement, mouthing 'thank you' once more to Oliver who waved it off as if he had held the door open for her instead of saving her life._

"Kens, did you hear me?"

The brunette shook herself from her stupor. First she looked to Deeks, who was staring at her with concern lining his face. Then she glanced outside. They were parked outside of a small split level home. A sprinkler watered the lush lawn in front of the sunshine-colored house.

"Sorry, what?"

"This is Captain Oliver Davis's home. According to Eric, his wife was visited by the calls officers about three days ago. Her name is-"

"Mia. He talked about her a lot," Kensi finished for him.

"Ready?" Deeks reached over and gave her hand a squeeze.

"No. This isn't some case, this is personal. Don't mention anything about how he died, okay? The last thing Mia needs is to know is how he suffered before hand."

"Alright," Deeks agreed.

They left the car and picked their way up the walk to the front porch. The two were careful about not getting doused by the sprinkler. Kensi noticed for the first time as they climbed the steps that pink balloons were attached to the railing. Mia must have had the baby already.

Kensi reached over tentatively and rang the doorbell. They could hear it echo throughout the house followed by an empty silence. She waited another minute or so before ringing it again. Afraid that Mia wasn't home, Kensi began to turn away when the door finally opened.

The brunette had seen pictures of Mia Davis hanging above Oliver's bunk, but she resembled little of the woman the Captain bragged so frequently about. She looked thin, tan skin much paler than it should have been. Her shiny brown hair was matter to her head in a low ponytail. Mia's light gray eyes were red with tired bags hanging below them.

"Can I help you?" she asked in a weak voice.

"Hi, Mia. My name is Kensi Blye, and this is Marty Deeks. We served with your husband for a time overseas and wanted to offer our condolences for your loss. He was truly a great man who didn't deserve what happened to him. Oliver saved my life at least once and I am entirely grateful for that. I am so sorry," Kensi spoke as tears threatened to spill over.

Mia took a moment, looking at the two in shock for a moment. After she recovered from her dumbfounded state, she managed to choke out, "Thank you. It means so much."

"This was something we had to do ma'am," Deeks stepped in. "Both of us owe him for a lot."

A faint smile crossed Mia's lips before offering, "Would you like to come in for a bit? You two looked exhausted."

"We couldn't," Kensi started. The woman had gone through so much, and the last thing she wanted to do was impose on her.

"Please," Mia said. "Oliver would have wanted me to welcome two of his friends into our home."

Kensi looked to Deeks for guidance, who gave her a small nod that it was okay. Tentatively, the couple stepped into the quiet home. They were immediately greeted by the living room with a view of the compact dining room. White lilies were covering the table from various family and friends.

"Would you like anything to eat or drink?" she offered.

"No thank you," Kensi declined as they took a seat on the couch.

Mia flattened out the wrinkles in her jeans before tucking her legs underneath a loveseat.

"Please tell me that he wasn't afraid when he passed?" Mia asked, her brave face cracking.

"He was with Quinn Keelson, and he gave Oliver strength. He was a brave man, Mia," Kensi replied.

A smile crossed Mia's face before continuing, "Quinn and Oliver were best friends. It was an ongoing joke that Quinn was his work wife. I'm glad he was with him. It makes it just a tiny bit easier. Just like you two coming here. So thank you."

"Keelson wanted me to give you this," Deeks said as he handed her an envelope. "These were the things above his bunk. Quinn asked me to tell you that Oliver thought no matter how far away he was, these pictures made him feel like he was home again."

Before Mia could reply, a shrill cry from upstairs broke through the quiet air of the home like a knife. Mrs. Davis sighed and said, "I swore I _just _put her down for a nap."

Mia disappeared for a moment before coming back with a tiny bundle swathed in a pink blanket. The baby was still crying, and Mia was desperately trying to calm her down.

"Here, let me try," Deeks offered. He took the bundle from her and cooed softly. Rocking her back and forth, the baby ceased crying in two minutes flat.

"She's never been that good with me," Mia laughed.

"What's her name?" Kensi inquired, peering over to look at her. The baby let out a wide yawn, her emerald eyes beaming.

"Olivia Quinn Davis. After her father and godfather."

"Hi Olivia," Deeks grinned, looking down at the child with a fond gleam in his eyes. The baby reached up for his nose playfully with unpracticed movements. "Want to hold her?" He asked, addressing Kensi.

"Deeks, I'm not-"

"Go ahead," Mia encouraged, smiling as if she hadn't in a long time.

Reluctantly, Kensi took Olivia from Deeks and held her close to her chest. The small child grazed her tiny fingers against Kensi's chin, making her beam. Kensi carefully adjusted so she was cradling Olivia in one arm. With a free hand, she matched it up to the baby's. They stayed like that for a long moment before Olivia yawned widely, retracted her arm, and closed her beautiful green eyes.

"You're great with her," complimented Mia as she took her child away from Kensi. Mia quickly set Olivia down in a carrier and stood. "Thank you both for coming again. It meant more than I can express."

She brought Kensi into a tight hug, and then in turn Deeks.

"Bye Mia," the brunette said.

"Bye Kensi."

With that, Deeks and Kensi escorted themselves out through the front door. Kensi exhaled deeply, feeling as though a debt was paid. Looking back once more, she got into the driver's seat of the truck. Raising an eyebrow, Deeks climbed into the shotgun.

"Hotel or home?" Kensi asked, glancing across.

"Home. Definitely home," Deeks said.

She drove away with ease, not looking back at the house.

"You know, Mia was right."

"Right about what?"

"You were really good with Olivia."

Kensi looked over and smiled broadly, though it was filled with some melancholy. Deeks took her hand and didn't let it go.


	17. Just Childish Things

**Author's Note:**

**Hey everybody! I can't believe it, but we passed two hundred reviews! Thank you all so much for the kind words :) Your reviews really make my day.**

**-C**

* * *

Kensi watched the weather report, heart sinking. Los Angeles was reaching record-low temperatures. As somebody who enjoyed the sun's warmth year round, this was not boding well for her Christmas spirit. She groaned, mumbling something about hoping the forecasters were wrong as usual, and turned the television off.

Her socked feet found their way on top of the coffee table, hands folded against her stomach. Kensi let her head sink against the couch cushions and close her eyes. They had driven back seven hours directly from Mia Davis's house, and arrived in Los Angeles around one in the morning. Even after driving all night, Kensi didn't sleep well and it was starting to catch up to her.

Just when Kensi hoped that she would be able to sleep, the heard the door open and shut swiftly, a cold draft chilling her bones. An icy shiver squirming down her spine, she opened one eye to see Deeks walking right past her with a bag of groceries under one arm. First, he had straightened up her apartment, and now he was restocking the fridge.

"Deeeeeeks," she whined, trying to turn over and bury her face in the pillows and various throw blankets scattered on her couch. "I'm trying to sleep."

Deeks laughed at her muffled voice, for she was speaking into a cushion. He set the groceries down on the counter and hurried over to the couch. The detective plopped down right next to her head and ran his fingers through her hair.

"You can't sleep, we have to go Christmas shopping."

Kensi groaned, lifting her eyes to meet his baby blues. "It's December 23rd."

"And?"

"The mall is going to be _insane_, Deeks."

"We've faced worse than a crowd of desperate shoppers," he insisted, patting her shoulder.

"I need coffee. Or better yet, Starbucks."

"I can do that, Fern," he smiled.

* * *

An hour later, Kensi really wished she hadn't let Deeks charm her off the couch and into going shopping. People were _everywhere. _And of course, the Starbucks line had taken forever, but the brunette had made Deeks stand in line with her for putting them through this.

Coffee in hand, they skirted around the Christmas shoppers, some dragging kids behind and others carrying bags upon bags that were almost as big as the people carrying them.

"You know what I said earlier about facing worse things than this?" Deeks started. "I was wrong."

Kensi laughed, despite having almost wearing her latte a moment before because a large woman in quite the rush butted into her. If she were to speak honestly, Kensi really didn't mind all of the chaos. People tripping over each other, the over-sized shopping bags that were really only seen when Macy's had a sale, and the several men dressed up in red suits. Yeah, it was annoying at best, but when she had spent a month overseas, she realized just how much she took for granted. Thinking once again about her time in Afghanistan, Kensi tentatively reached for Deeks's hand, as if assuring herself that he was still there.

He squeezed it gently, as if reading her thoughts. They shared a look before pausing by a window in front of a store that mostly sold clothes for teenage girls. Deeks dragged a piece of folded paper from his pocket and began reading off of it.

"Okay, so we need presents for Callen, Nell, Eric, Hetty, Michelle and Sam, and their kids."

Kensi raised an eyebrow, "We're buying presents for all three of their kids?" She took a sip of her latte, feeling the warm drink soothe her scratchy throat.

"Come on, in the spirit of the season!" Deeks pleaded.

She shrugged and smiled. "I'm not arguing."

"Come on then, I know where to go first."

He dragged her into a store that sold CDs, DVDs, and comic books. She was looking around for her favorite techno artist when the detective caught her attention towards a stand in the back. Deeks was holding up a winter hat with the colors of Gryffindor and the seal of Hogwarts on the front. The only reason why Kensi was able to identify it was all of the hours spent around Rosaline Hanna, and her strong obsession for Harry Potter.

"That's perfect," Kensi commented, taking it from him.

"Oh wait, there's something else here," he laughed. Turning to face Deeks again, he pulled a base-ball cap low over her eyes.

Taking it off of her head, she saw that the snapback had a Wonder Woman symbol on the front. Chuckling, she put it back on the shelf. "No way are you getting that."

"Come on," he insisted.

"I'm not a teenager," Kensi laughed.

Exasperated, Deeks gave in, "Fine."

* * *

Walking out of the mall three hours later, Kensi was impressed with how well they made off considering that most shops were bled dry of their products. They made a quick stop on the way back to Deeks's apartment at an expensive restaurant, buying a gift card for Sam and Michelle. At last, long into the afternoon, they walked through the door to the detective's home, arms full with presents waiting to be wrapped.

"Do you mind getting wrapping paper out of the closet? I'm going to make us some lunch," Deeks asked, once locking the front door behind him.

"Sure," Kensi agreed, dropping some of the bags by the couch. She went to the hall closet and found the wrapping paper and some gift bags with ease. Returning the living room, she hastily cleared his coffee table of magazines and a snow globe. Kensi chuckled to herself, admiring the decoration. It depicted an ice rink, the small people forever in mid laugh and twirling through the falling snow. Tentatively, she gently shook it. The artificial flakes cascaded and settled down at the bottom. Before Kensi knew it, Deeks was coming into the room carrying a wooden tray. He set it down on the coffee table and joined her on the couch.

"Grilled cheese and hot chocolate, the perfect winter meal," he said, rubbing his hands together for emphasis. Really, it did smell wonderful.

"Thanks, Deeks," she replied. Kensi kissed him sweetly on the lips to emphasize it. Sure, it wasn't a five star restaurant, but she wouldn't have wanted anything else. At first, it seemed to catch him off guard, but he quickly recovered.

"Alright, let's get wrapping," Deeks suggested once they broke apart, grabbing the nearest roll of paper.

"Um, Deeks? I suck at wrapping presents."

The detective couldn't help but laugh. "You can take down an armed terrorist four times your size, but can't neatly cover a box with colorful paper?"

Kensi found herself chuckling too, "Well when you put it like _that_-"

"You'll stick to the bags," he insisted seriously, handing them to her.

She glared at her boyfriend playfully before asking, "What have we got?"

Deeks stuffed his hand into a huge shopping bag, where the smaller ones were consolidated into. "We have Rosaline's Harry Potter hat and scarf." He passed them over to Kensi, "those have to go into a bag."

"Agreed. She's going to absolutely love these," Kensi remarked, already folding tissue paper over them.

"Next we have Eric's _Assassin's Creed IV_ videogame. I can wrap that."

"Are you sure he doesn't have it?"

"Yeah, he said that he was saving his money for something else."

Kensi raised an eyebrow.

Deeks gave in, "Eric kinda bought Nell a _really _expensive present."

She chuckled, "How long do you give it?"

"Before we catch them in Ops snogging in a corner? A few days," Deeks also laughed. "Now we have the Jets football jersey for Nell and Alex's Manchester City soccer ball."

"Sam tell you what his favorite team was?"

Deeks shook his head. "He didn't have to. Alex's room is plastered with Manchester City posters."

They began recalling memories from babysitting Sam's three kids, Alex who was ten, seven-year-old James, and the youngest at six, Rosaline. The three were rambunctious and very energetic, but well-behaved otherwise. At first what started as a one-time favor when Sam and Callen went to the game turned into the Navy SEAL's children asking for Kensi and Deeks daily.

As Kensi set to work on finishing Rosaline's present, she could hear Deeks mutter beside her, "Damn, the piece of tape is too short."

Without paying any attention to this seemingly random comment, Kensi wrote the youngest Hanna's name on the tag. Suddenly, she felt a pressure on her cheek.

"There we go," Deeks smirked.

Pretending to be agitated, Kensi peeled the piece of tape off of her face. While he was still laughing, she then countered by sticking it right onto his nose. "We actually have to get wrapping, otherwise we'll never finish."

"Agreed. Temporary truce," he consented, although the tape remained plastered to his skin.

Deeks then turned on the television, playing _A Christmas Story _as they continued wrapping gifts for their family. The couple remained in content silence while it ran. Kensi would occasionally shift closer to him, trying hard not to be conspicuous. Being good at what he did, however, Deeks noticed what she was doing but didn't say anything.

Kensi had just finished packaging Sam and Michelle's gift card when Deeks attacked her face with tape, this time with a scrap of snowman wrapping paper on the end to the bottom of her chin.

"Really? Two can play it this game," Kensi insisted with a devious smile. She quickly used the name tag she was holding and stuck it above Deeks's lip.

They took a moment to look at each other. Deeks staring at the snowman goatee, and Kensi looking at his greeting card mustache. Suddenly, they both start laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.

Deeks began stroking his chin contemplatively and said in a mock-British accent, "It's a high time for pondering with such fabulous facial hair."

Kensi chuckled, pulling the wrapping paper off of her chin as she snuggled into Deeks's side with a content smile. She saw Deeks rip the name tag off of his upper lip and stick it on the edge of the coffee table before draping an arm protectively over her side.

"We're really childish sometimes, you know that?" Kensi marveled, flicking some tissue paper off her leg.

"I don't care what we are as long as we're together," Deeks answered, trying to pull her even closer.

As she looked into her eyes, the whole world just shrank to those baby blues and the emotion dancing in them. The holiday music gently playing in the background, the characters in _A Christmas Story, _and Monty's chew toy flicked off as if a switch had been thrown.

"I'm sorry, that was a total cliché," he snickered to himself.

But Kensi wasn't really listening. She was too focused on his beautiful ocean eyes. The brunette knew that emerging himself in the azure waves of the Pacific was a way of being able to calm himself down and reassure himself that some good was coming on the horizon. For Kensi, it was hope. Just as the blue sky faded into night, functioning on clockwork, it would rise once again. When fear would consume her, she knew that she would see the shade again and everything would be alright. When the evening cold racked her body as an enemy, the shade would bring the dawn. And even when thousands of miles away, the same blue sky greeted her each morning, and somehow, she had known she would be alright.

"Kensi?" Deeks asked tentatively, knowing that she was deep in thought.

"I missed you. So. Much," she emphasized, burying her face into his chest.

He trailed is hand up and down her back, murmuring into her ear, "It's okay. We're both home, and we're together."

"It's the best feeling in the world," Kensi whispered. "And it's the best Christmas gift I've ever gotten."

"Hey Kens? This holiday is gonna be great."

"I know, Deeks. I know."

**Just thought that ending was cute :) Hopefully. I don't know :P Please tell me what you think and hopefully you all didn't just facepalm and think 'Dude, what is this chick talking about'. :D Thank you again for such a huge landmark…and only three chapters left! :0**


	18. Family

**Author's Note:**

**I AM SO SORRY. THIS IS ALMOST A WEEK LATE, BUT THIS CHAPTER WAS GIVING ME TONS OF DIFFICULTIES. Caps-lock aside, in my defense I have mid-terms in a week and am trying to organize a massive fundraiser at my high school. I hope you guys aren't mad. Anyways, I know that the Christmas cheer has kind of gone, but here we go anyways :)**

**-C**

Kensi and Deeks walked up the path to Sam's house on Christmas Eve, arms full of presents. Both of them were a little out of their element. First of all, it was their first real team interaction with the fact that they were a couple. Not only this, but Kensi's jeans and plain shirt was replaced with a casual, knee-length dress. It wasn't exactly form-fitting, but hugged her body well enough, especially due to the belt around her waist. Her ankle-high boots clicked against the pavement as she looked over at her boyfriend.

The blond surfer had also ditched his usual outfit for something much nicer. He was wearing dark jeans and a red-button up shirt that defined the muscles in his arms. It wasn't overly fancy, but Sam and his family were getting back from Christmas mass, so the Navy SEAL told them to wear something nice.

"He's going to kill us if we're late," Deeks muttered, trying to check his watch. The presents were blocking them, though.

"We have exactly one minute, so walk faster," Kensi reassured him, racing ahead to ring the doorbell.

In less than a millisecond, Sam answered the door with a knowing smirk on his face. It was strange, seeing the senior agent in a tailored white shirt and black jeans. They rarely got out as a team, and when they did, it was at a casual bar.

"You're late," he commented, leaning up against the door.

"We had about thirty seconds," Deeks argued with a smile.

The man eyed the mountain of gifts warily, "Really?"

"Never take Deeks on a shopping trip," Kensi warned, moving inside the significantly warmer house. Even though it was Los Angeles, winter still brought it's signature chill.

"You should talk. You should have seen her when we passed the chocolate store," Deeks protested, also moving inside.

"You can set those underneath the tree in here," Sam said, laughing, as he led them into the family room. Sure enough, the pine was glistening with stringed lights. Laying the presents carefully underneath it, Kensi could hear laughter coming from the kitchen.

She was about to join the rest of their friends when a force collided with her from the back. Kensi couldn't help but grunt and stumble forward, glancing over her shoulder to see Rosaline Hanna tightly gripping her.

"Aunt Kensi!" she squealed, holding the brunette's waist in a death grip.

"Hey there," she laughed, spinning to face the kindergartener. Kensi returned the hug, but the little girl was soon lost to the brunette, as Rosaline jumped at Deeks.

Experienced, the detective caught her, supporting Rosaline's rear end with one arm as the child wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Is there one for me?" she asked, pointing towards the presents that Kensi was now straightening up.

"Absolutely," Kensi reassured her. She caught Deeks's eye and winked at him.

"Which one!?"

"You'll just have to see after dinner, Rose," the blue-eyed man reassured.

"Please Uncle Marty?"

He shrugged. "I have special orders from Santa."

"Really?" Rosaline inquired in a fascinated voice.

Before Deeks could reply, Michelle called her daughter from the kitchen. He let the child down on the carpet gently. Rosaline straightened out her red, black, and white plaid dress before running into the other room. Watching her go, Kensi laughed.

"What?" Deeks asked.

"Nothing, it's just you're good with her," Kensi smiled, repeating almost the exact same thing he had said yesterday.

Catching on to this, he grinned and wrapped his arm around her waist. Together, they walked into the kitchen, where an overwhelming aroma of smells wafted towards them.

"Kensi! Deeks!" Nell greeted happily, running over to give each of them a quick hug. She was wearing a light pink dress with a miniature black sweater. Eric watched from behind her. He was donning a dark green polo, and of course his signature cargo shorts.

"Hey, look who finally showed up," Callen commented before taking another swig of his beer. He was leaning on the island counters in the middle of the brightly lit kitchen.

"Just in time too, we're about to have dinner," Michelle smiled, pulling a roast out of the oven. Kensi started salivating just at the sight of it.

"Anything to drink?" Sam asked, heading for the fridge.

"Wine, please," Deeks replied.

It didn't take long before the Navy SEAL had filled their glasses with expensive red wine and they were ushered into the dining room. The extended mahogany table was adorned with a maroon table cloth and a lit candle centerpiece.

"Sit next to me, Uncle Marty!" Rosaline insisted, pulling on his hand to her place setting.

Deeks laughed, trying not to spill his wine as he followed the five-year-old's lead. Kensi took a seat to the detective's right, and on the left of Nell. Underneath the table, Deeks intertwined their fingers briefly and gave her a reassuring squeeze. A light pink blush swept up Kensi's cheeks even though she fought to keep it down.

_"You look absolutely beautiful," Deeks commented as Kensi came out of her bedroom, clipping on her last earring. _

_ "You don't look too bad yourself," she said, grinning from ear to ear. Kensi gathered up half of the presents in her arms and made her way to the driveway where Deeks's pick-up truck was waiting. She emptied them into the backseat, thinking about what they were doing tonight._

_ Sure, it was a Christmas Eve dinner and the team had celebrated holidays together before. After all, Sam was the only one who had any real familial commitments, excluding Kensi's mother. But something was different with this one. It was Kensi and Deeks's first holiday together as a couple, and the first time it was public to the team._

_ They had never openly admitted anything, yet everybody knew what was going on with the two junior agents. Even knowing this, it made Kensi feel nervous above anything else._

_ "Hey, you alright?" Deeks asked, also gently putting their gifts on the seat. _

_ "Fine."_

_ "Come on, we both know that 'fine' really translates into 'I'm actually not fine but let's pretend I am anyway.'"_

_ Turning to face him, she sighed. "I'm nervous for tonight. I don't know how the others are going to react."_

_ "The others know we're together, Kens."_

_ "I know. Honestly, I'm still trying to get used this whole thing and I feel like their attention is going to be on us, which I don't want to happen." Her eyes met his, and Deeks could see the genuine worry that was laced in the swirling brown depths._

_ "How about this? How about we keep the hand-holding to a bare minimum, so the drama queens won't have anything to gossip about?"_

_ Kensi managed to chuckle in spite of her insecurities. "Then I better get my fill before we leave."_

_ Deeks cupped her face gently and softly brought his lips to hers. Once they reluctantly parted, he said, "Come on princess, we got a party to go to."_

Kensi was thankful that Deeks was staying true to his word. It certainly helped calm her nerves. But these thoughts quickly vanished away when the others took their seats around the table. Callen and Eric were across the table from them, with Sam's two sons, James and Alex sitting next to their mother who was at the head of the table. Only Sam was missing, who was carving the 'Christmas beast' in the kitchen. It was just when Sam returned with a platter of meat when Kensi realized that one place setting was not occupied.

"Is Hetty coming?" Kensi asked, looking pointedly to the empty seat.

"Nope, she had 'business to take care of', but wishes all a Merry Christmas," Callen informed them.

"Then who else is joining us?" Deeks inquired.

The doorbell suddenly rang, and Sam put the platter by Michelle and said, "Start serving, sweetheart. That'll be him now."

Kensi got distracted from listening to the voice when Michelle asked her how much beef she wanted. After requesting one and having her plate passed to her, Sam returned with their surprise guest.

"Nate!" Kensi greeted, leaping up from the table to give the operational psychologist a giant hug.

"Hey man!" Eric also said, getting up to say hello.

"Welcome back Nate," Deeks raised a glass towards him with a large grin.

"Merry Christmas everyone," Nate smiled, taking off his gloves and stuffing them into the pocket of his stone-washed jeans.

"We were just about to start dinner, if you can still stay," Sam told him.

"Sounds great, thanks Sam."

With Nate at the table, their family dinner was certainly complete. Kensi had her plate piled high with mashed potatoes and beans. It was a feast and a celebration that the Romans would be envious of. They were laughing and joking, with the occasional interruption from Rosaline babbling too loudly to Deeks. Dessert had came and went long ago, but the conversation was still merry.

"Wait, _what _happened when I was gone?" Kensi half-choked on her wine in disbelief. They weren't tipsy yet, per se, but the alcohol was certainly getting to some of them, like Nell, who couldn't seem to stop giggling.

"This one happened," Sam gestured to Deeks, with an annoyed look on his face.

"Are you mocking my undercover genius?" Deeks feigned shock.

"Yes." Callen and his partner replied in unison.

"This one went undercover as a French interior designer when we were working a joint case with FINSEN."

Kensi laughed, "I heard some guys at the base talking about doing a joint operation with NCIS, but didn't know it was you. And really, Deeks? What is with you and your choice of covers?"

"I call it artistic freedom," Deeks insisted.

She shook her head in disbelief.

"If you heard some of the things he said…" Sam trailed off, eyes going wide.

"Don't be afraid of ze color," Callen mocked in a perfect French accent. "Bring on ze wonderful."

Soon the entire family was laughing at the detective, who was chuckling as well. It was only interrupted by Rosaline tugging on her father's sleeve.

"Time for presents, Daddy?"

Sam looked to the rest of the group for permission. Callen spoke first, "I guess it's time for presents."

Rosaline hopped out of her chair, bouncing up and down. Callen jumped out of his seat and picked the little girl up as she squealed. He tossed her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and spun to face the table.

"You guys coming?"

The rest of the group followed them into the living room where the tree was. Callen deposited Rosaline on the couch as the kindergartner sprang into a fit of giggles.

"Can I open mine first!?" James, who was seven, asked, racing to sit right next to the tree.

"No, me first!" Alex, a ten-year-old, insisted as he butted his younger brother out of the way.

Kensi chuckled to herself, settling into Deeks's side on the couch with a glass of wine carefully perched in her hand. She observed with a sly smile as Eric and Nell took the love seat, and they were sitting awfully close to each other.

"Which one's mine?" Rosaline questioned as she climbed into Callen's lap who was in a big armchair.

"Rose, that's rude," Michelle chastised her daughter, sitting on the floor in front of the couch with her legs tucked underneath her.

"Nah, it's all good. The gift we got her is in the Santa bag," Deeks explained, gesturing to the one front and center. James picked it up and delivered it to Rosaline, who was half-asleep on top of Callen.

She quickly ripped it open before Sam even had time to get the camera. Rosaline squealed, throwing the hat and scarf on. "Thank you Uncle Marty and Aunt Kensi!" The five-year-old even took the time to run over and embrace them both before returning to 'Uncle Callen's' lap.

"I think she likes it," Alex joked, inching towards an oddly wrapped present. He sheepishly snatched it from underneath the tree and read the name tag. "This is for me from Uncle Marty and Aunt Kensi. Can I open it?"

"Go ahead," Kensi encouraged, leaning her head on Deeks's shoulder. As the night went on, she was getting much more comfortable with being open about their relationship.

He ripped open the paper and eyes went wide at the gift. "No way!" Alex, an inspiring goalie, quickly tore off the cardboard and began dribbling around the living room. "This is the best gift EVER!"

Deeks and Kensi couldn't help but laugh. Alex was more stoic, much like his father, and it was strange to see him behave in such a way.

"The next one's to Mom and Dad from Nate," James relayed. He handed it over to Michelle.

"You didn't have to," she chastised the operational psychologist for indulging.

"You're the hosts," Nate insisted. He seemed pleased with himself as Michelle was clearly happy with the new glass plates they received. "It's not much, but it was what I could scrounge up."

"They're really nice. Thank you."

"How long have you been in town?" Kensi inquired. "I can't imagine that you got presents for us on Christmas Eve."

"I flew in a few hours ago, but did my shopping in-" he cut himself off, clearly embarrassed that he almost gave away where he had been conducting operations lately. "Elsewhere."

"We get it, you can't tell us," Deeks teased.

"Thanks for the plates, man," Sam said.

"It's the least I can do," Nate replied. He reached behind the sofa and brought out five identical bags. Handing them out to Kensi, Deeks, Callen, Nell, and Eric respectively. "In speaking of, duty calls and unfortunately I can't stay," he gave them a sad smile.

"What? You just got here," Kensi commented in bewilderment.

"Not much I can do about it. Merry Christmas everyone." Nate waved, and didn't even give them the chance to say good-bye before he excused himself from the Hanna household. Nate Getz had become a very mysterious man indeed.

"That was abrupt," Eric looked from left to right and then at the door.

"You know how Nate is nowadays. Here one minute, gone the next," Callen countered.

Nell sighed, "Truly strange. We can only speculate what he's doing for Hetty."

"Uh, Dad? Back to presents?" James asked with a wide yawn.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Kensi could see that it was past ten, and the children were long due in bed. Another close look at Rosaline revealed that the child was sleeping against her uncle's shoulder.

"All at once?" Deeks suggested, gesturing to the identical bags.

"Why not?" Eric shrugged.

Kensi was expecting that Nate got them all the same thing, but it turned that the gifts were personalized. Callen was given quite the fancy pocketknife, Nell a yellow scarf, Eric a Spiderman iPad case, Deeks special sex wax for his surfboard, and herself a picture frame that could hold two photos. She smiled, knowing exactly what to put in it.

"Wow, this was really nice of him," Nell commented, pulling the tag off of her scarf and tossing it over her shoulders. She whacked Eric with the fabric in the process, but he didn't notice because he was too busy smiling at her.

"I wish he could have stayed longer," Kensi said, biting her lip. Even after all of these years, it felt weird not having Nate an everyday part of the team like he used to.

"Agreed," Callen added. He was flicking his new knife open and shut.

"Hey," Sam caught his attention, throwing G a stern glance.

"What?" the team leader inquired as he flicked it closed.

"Do not play with that knife while my daughter is laying on top of you," he chastised.

Callen surrendered, safeguarding the knife in his pocket with a knowing smirk on his face.

"Can I open my gift?" James asked, fingering the strings on a box from Kensi and Deeks.

"Go ahead, bud, it's getting late," Michelle encouraged, covering a large yawn with her hand herself.

James gawked over the _LEGO: Star Wars_ video game he got, and insisted on stopping everything and playing it right then and there. Sam and Michelle encouraged that the boys finish opening their presents and then high-tail it up to bed. Nell and Eric got Alex and James a Navy and _Star Wars_ sweatshirts respectively, which both were very happy with. Once making sure that it was all they were gonna get for the night, they hugged everybody and then disappeared sleepily into their rooms.

"I'll get her to sleep," Callen offered softly, and carried Rosaline down the hall where the kid's bedrooms were.

Upon the first time that she had visited the Hanna household, Kensi noticed the strategic advantage to everything. A single story home, the kids' bedrooms were in the back and could access the backyard easily if there were a need of a quick escape.

Nell opened up the gift from Eric while Callen was gone, and was absolutely ecstatic over the fact that he had gotten her a football signed by all the current members of the New York Jets. Although Sam and later Callen (once he got back) scoffed once more at her taste in football teams, no one could deny that it was an extremely generous gift. Insisting that it went with it, Kensi and Deeks gave Nell the Jets jersey, which she threw on over her dress. It looked ridiculous, but was so the intelligence analyst's style.

Eric also came out very successful in his presents. The blond was given some computer thing that nobody else understood from Nell and was gawking over the new _Assassin's Creed _game for ten straight minutes, but was pressed on. Sam and Michelle still had to put out the presents for their children for Christmas morning, and it was already past eleven. They were used to pulling all-nighters for work, but a stomach full of food and hours of laughing had left everyone in exhaustion.

Nearing midnight once everybody had opened up presents, there was one giant one still left underneath the tree. Kensi had barely even noticed it tucked among the evergreen branches. The wine and good food was starting to go to her head, and eyes were becoming extremely tired.

"There's a reason why you haven't gotten anything yet," Sam started, addressing Kensi and Deeks. "We already cleared this with Hetty, and all of us chipped in for it. Go ahead and open it."

Michelle was kind enough to push the box over to them so they didn't have to get up and untangle themselves. There was a huge, over-exaggerated green bow on top of the red and white striped paper. Looking at one another, Kensi and Deeks carefully lifted it off of the ground and began to unwrap it. Whatever was inside was extremely light.

Kensi lifted the piece of paper that was inside and looked at it with confusion.

"Oh my God," she murmured. "You guys really didn't have to do this."

"Consider it a welcome home present, Kens. And a congratulatory gift as well," Nell explained seriously.

"That cottage is beach front, completely secluded, but not too far away from a small town with great seafood," Michelle added. "Sam took me there for our tenth anniversary."

"It's just south of San Diego, and train tickets are already paid for. A four day vacation, and you leave the day after New Year's," Callen informed.

"Wow," Deeks murmured. "We really can't thank you guys enough."

"We figured after the hell you two have been through, a five day vacation was the right thing to do," Sam explained.

"Not to mention, the surf's pretty wicked," Eric grinned.

While Kensi and Deeks were still staring at the train tickets and the photograph of the cottage, Eric and Nell excused themselves to the kitchen to start washing the dishes. The junior agents joined them, and in a few minutes the job was complete.

"I think we're gonna go home. Fern here is falling asleep," Deeks said when it was half past midnight. To emphasize his point, Kensi couldn't help the yawn that escaped.

"Merry Christmas guys," Nell wished, tightly hugging them both.

"Bye Marty! Bye Kensi," Michelle waved, putting leftovers in the refrigerator.

"Thanks, you too guys. By the way, your gift card comes with a night of free babysitting," Kensi added while smiling sleepily.

"See you after your break," Callen hugged his surrogate sister and brother. He quickly returned to picking the wrapping paper off of the floor.

"I'll walk you guys out," Sam said as they retrieved their presents from beside the couch.

The three treaded silently to the car. Sam gave Deeks a quick handshake and Kensi a hug before they climbed into the pick-up truck.

"Merry Christmas. Take care of each other, alright?"

"Will do, Sam." Deeks promised, pulling out of the driveway.

When they turned down the street, Kensi murmured, "That went well."

Deeks laughed, rubbing at his tired eyes. "Yeah, it did."

"Merry Christmas, Deeks."

"Merry Christmas, Kensi."

**Guys, I have a final note. I hate to say this, but I don't know when this story is going to end time wise. I'm going to be extremely busy. I also want the ending to this to be to its highest capability, which means not rushing it. I promise to get you the new chapters as quickly as possible, though. Thanks for sticking with me guys.**


	19. Kind of Man

**Author's Note:**

**Second to last chapter! It's kinda sad because this story was so successful, but I'm hoping for just a good of a response for my next one…which a preview for will be released next, and FINAL chapter!**

**-C**

Kensi woke up, but couldn't convince herself to open her eyes just yet. Sleep tugged at her consciousness to enjoy its peaceful lull for just a few more minutes. She stretched out with an arm to find an empty bed. Confused, she bolted up.

How did she get here?

Gathering her loose curls into a makeshift braid, she kicked her senses into detective mode. The last thing Kensi remembered from the previous night was getting into the car. She must have fallen asleep on the way home and Deeks was kind enough to carry her inside. Then something else occurred to her. They were at Deeks's apartment, meaning that he had to be around here somewhere.

Kensi stretched, pulling the string on her black sweats tighter. She readjusted her oversized LAPD shirt so it didn't hang off her shoulder so much. Before leaving his bedroom, she couldn't help but pause in front of a mirror on a dresser to see if she looked presentable.

Finally confident in her appearance, albeit her hair was still a mess and make-up was smeared beneath her eyes a little, Kensi left his bedroom. Upon opening the slightly parted door, an overwhelming smell hit her nose as if it were a tangible force. Punkish Christmas music was playing in the background, speeding up classical carols and making them more upbeat. He had good tastes.

She leaned on the side of the wall, watching him cook in his kitchen. He was preparing a feast, but Kensi couldn't see what it was from where she stood. Silently, she snuck up behind him and pinched his sides.

With a childish yelp, he tossed whatever he was holding in the air in surprise. Skillfully, he was able to catch the apple that had been flung towards the ceiling before spinning to face Kensi.

The mismatched eyed beauty was cracking up at his dramatic reaction with a grand smile. Deeks looked at her disapprovingly before breaking out in laughter as well. He put the apple aide for a moment to wrap his arms around her back. His bare chest and hers were a teasingly mere inches apart

"You think you're so funny, don't you Fern?" He asked with a smirk.

She snaked her arms around his waist too, applying pressure lightly with her fingers in a soothing way. "I do."

"I don't think there's enough food here for you and your ego," Deeks grinned, gesturing with his head towards the counter.

Kensi's eyes went bug-eyed at the amount of food he had prepared. The marble top was crowded with the same wooden tray they used after Christmas shopping. Two plates stood next to each other, adorned with homemade waffles topped with whipped cream and strawberries. A bottle of syrup and the butter was off to the side, right next to two cups of coffee and tall glasses of orange juice. Inhaling deeply, Kensi could smell the bacon still in the oven.

"Please, this is enough to feed Sam and Callen too."

They stood like this for a moment longer, staring into the other one's eyes. No words passed between their eager lips, yet a million words went unspoken. It was through the emotion in the orbs. The gentle touch on their backs. The way both were desperate to reach closer. But neither dared to move.

"I love you."

Kensi blinked in surprise, and she wasn't sure if she caught it correctly. Many times she had imagined, or even hoped that he would eventually say it. But she didn't want to make a fool of herself for succumbing to a figment of her imagination.

"What?" she asked tentatively.

"I love you, Kens. I have for a long time, and I should have said it sooner. So I'm telling you now. I love you."

She wanted to say it. She so desperately wanted to. It was just out of reach, something that was so close, fingertips just brushing it. Kensi opened her mouth and closed it a few times before. She finally gained the courage.

Standing on her toes, she stretched and planted a soft kiss on Deeks's lips. Murmuring against his skin, she whispered, "I love you."

He finally broke the tension and pulled Kensi into a tight hug. Deeks pressed another kiss into the side of her head, right above her ear. He couldn't resist saying it again. "I love you."

"I love you too," Kensi said passionately. She would never get over the thrill that came with it rolling off her tongue. The emotions it brought. The way it made her heart feel so weightless.

As they broke apart, Kensi's stomach grumbled loudly. An embarrassing blush rose to her cheeks while Deeks laughed.

"Come on, I made breakfast." The detective grabbed the tray and made his way over to the couch. His Christmas tree was standing proudly in the corner. While taking a moment to admire the decorations, Kensi noticed that they were a few wrapped presents underneath the evergreen limbs.

"Deeks, you went way overboard," she chastised. "Wait a second, the presents _I _wrapped for you are there."

He smiled shyly, "I stopped by your apartment last night after I got you into bed."

"Thank you," she answered, plopping herself down on the couch. Not two seconds after Kensi hit the cushions, Monty ran and jumped into her lap with her.

Both agents turned and laughed at the dog's enthusiasm. Deeks passed her a plate of waffles. It took all of a few seconds for the brunette to dig in, savoring the great cooking.

"Where did you learn to cook?" Kensi inquired around a mouthful of food.

Deeks finished chewing before answering, "My mom did, actually. Looking back, life wasn't bad when it was just the two of us- or when my dad had too much to drink and was passed out on the couch."

Kensi bit her lip, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

She trailed off. There was no way she know how to finish that sentence.

"It's fine," he affirmed shortly. A moment passed before adding, "I promise we'll talk about it another time. But for right now? This Christmas is between you and me." Deeks gave her a brave smile while squeezing her hand.

Kensi opened her mouth to speak, but Monty barked all of a sudden, obviously sensing his master's stress.

The brunette laughed, "Monty too."

Deeks joined her, mood shifting once more. He set his empty plate on the coffee table in front of him and finishing off the meal with some coffee. Kensi followed his example, stomach happily satisfied with the food Deeks made.

"I have a special present saved for last, so I want you to start with this," he grabbed the nearest wrapped box and handed it to her. She could tell that he wasn't trying to smile, so Kensi raised a brow in suspicion. Curious, Kensi ripped the packaging open to reveal a plain white box. Lifting the top open, it revealed a particular shirt that Kensi couldn't help grin at.

"Since you wouldn't let me get you the hat…" Deeks trailed off.

Kensi was now laughing, holding up the Wonder Woman t-shirt to her own body. Judging by the looks of it, the size was perfect.

"Thank you, Deeks. I love it. Now, it's your turn. Grab the one in the red bag."

Doing as she instructed, Deeks lifted that one off of the floor as well. He examined it, calculating the weight and everything as if he were eight again. Finally, he dug his hand in and shuffled the paper around for a moment before pulling out a box collection of the Bourne movies.

"No way! I rented the first one, but this is the best spy movie ever!" Deeks exclaimed, turning it over in his hands.

"I thought that we could watch one together later today," Kensi suggested.

"Oh definitely. Matt Damon is a _genius_."

"Sounds like somebody has a man crush."

"Nobody could ever replace you, princess. What's wrong with Matt Damon?"

"I'm just not particularly fond of him."

"Have you ever seen _The Departed_?"

Kensi paused for a moment, tossing the title around in her head. "No, I haven't."

"That explains it. How could you not have seen it? It's a cop drama for God's sake! Leonardo DiCaprio stars in it!"

Kensi's eyes went bug eyed and then stared at the blank television. "Can we watch it?"

Deeks chuckled. "Let's get through your presents first, princess."

"Okay," she agreed.

"This is another one of those non-serious gifts, but here we go," Deeks handed her a bag that was quite heavy for it's small shape.

She knew what it was the moment her hand came into contact with it. Kensi lifted the industrial-sized coffee mug out of the wrappings and read what was on the side, "Given enough coffee, I could rule the world. Really?" Kensi asked, laughing and holding it up.

"I saw it one day while getting lunch for Callen, Sam, and I when you were gone. Naturally, I thought of you."

"Hey, the mug speaks the truth," Kensi teased. "It's perfect."

"You're welcome, Fern. Which one do you want me to open next?"

"Go for the green one with the white ribbon. I think it's best that you open that sooner than later."

Deeks indeed grabbed the one she was referring to, a big box that was adorned with holiday paper. He tore it open, to find that the décor covered up an old box used to store wine. Once removing the lid, he chuckled upon seeing what was inside.

"Fern, this is easily the best Christmas present ever!" Deeks chuckled, removing his new plant from the box.

Indeed, it was a fern.

"Just, don't let me near it. It'll die in three seconds flat," Kensi joked.

"It's actually great. This is going…" he trailed off, practically darting around the room until finding the right place for it, which happened to be on a corner table next to the couch. The detective had to move a stack of magazines, but once Deeks was satisfied he finished his thought, "…here."

"Looks nice," she commented.

"It really does. Thanks Kens," he pecked her on the lips quickly on his way back to the couch with a small box in hand. "Warning: this is the last non-serious gift you get."

Kensi smiled at him while she removed a huge red bow over the golden box. She realized then that the decoration was concealing the brand name of Kensi's favorite chocolates. Excited, she opened the top a crack and inhaled the smell of expensive chocolate. Truffles.

"We're so sharing these," Kensi insisted after closing the box back up.

"It's your gift, Kens."

"You haven't lived until you've had one of these truffles, Deeks."

"I'm glad you like them."

"Okay, your turn," Kensi said, getting up herself and handing him a long and flat box.

Deeks raised an eyebrow as he opened it, and then realized what it was. He did a sharp intake a breath before ripping over the protective plastic packaging. Once he marveled over the tailored dress shirt, he managed to ask, "how did you know my measurements?"

Kensi laughed, "I'm a trained federal agent, and you don't think I can't guess my boyfriend's shirt size?"

"You asked Hetty, didn't you?"

"Maybe. I thought you needed one since the last couple of dress shirts you wore had blood stains on them," she half-joked. "I got that for you for date nights."

"It'll be great for our vacation this week," Deeks added, folding the shirt back up and then putting the box safely on the coffee table.

"I still can't believe the team did that for us."

"Neither can I. We owe them big time."

"We should have them over for dinner when we get back as a thank you," Kensi suggested.

"We'll talk about it more when that time gets here. I have something important to give you."

Deeks grabbed a small bag from underneath the tree and handed it to her. Kensi took it tentatively, knowing that whatever it was, it was going to be special. She pulled out a smaller box from it and deduced immediately that it was a piece of jewelry.

"You didn't," she gasped once she saw what was inside.

There was an orate and clearly delicate necklace lying amongst the white material. It was silver with a small pendant in the shape of a tear drop. What looked like tiny branches extended from the inside of it, and like blossoms held small purple jewels.

"Deeks, it's beautiful," she whispered softly. Kensi ran a light finger over the gems, admiring their purity.

"And here are the matching earrings, but I wanted you to see the necklace first," the detective produced another box from his pocket.

Kensi was stunned into silence. She put the boxes in her lap and then leaned over the embrace Deeks fiercely. It was easily the most beautiful jewelry she had ever seen.

"Thank you," she murmured in his ear.

"I love you, Fern. But this is only part one."

Once they pulled apart, Deeks disappeared into a spare room and brought out a familiar looking box. In fact, it was _The _Box. The box that had remained in the mission since last year. Kensi looked at in confusion.

Deeks put it on the cushion in between them and then sat back down. "You gave this to me for my birthday last year. I almost opened it after you were reassigned, and then realized that I should do it with you next to me. I'm telling you that you have the choice for me to open it or not."

Kensi ran a hand over her chin in thought, staring at the cardboard box and taking in every detail of it. There were wrinkles at the corners and a moisture stain on the side. She thought long and hard about it for at least several minutes.

"When I gave you that, I thought that you would have opened it before we sorted out our thing. I don't think that this is the right time in the stage in our relationship for you to see it just yet. Consider it a promise that one day, it will be the right time."

"Deal." He stared down at the box, "You're going back on the shelf…for now."

Deeks was about to get up when Kensi interfered. "Stay. I have one more present for you."

The surfer obeyed and remained patiently on the couch so that Kensi could hand him a small bag. She tucked into his side as he fumbled with the packaging. Kensi closed her eyes for a moment, preparing to tell the story behind the present.

"This is a really nice watch, Kens," Deeks commented, holding the gold instrument up. "But I have a feeling there's a story to it."

"That watch was my great-grandfather's; a gift after serving ten years in the Marine Corp. It was passed down to his son, my grandfather. Then to my father, third generation marine. He left it to me when he died. I think my dad intended for me to give it to whomever I married, envisioning that I would go into the Corps or marry a marine. But I want to give it to the most important person in my life, with him knowing that my father would have liked you."

Her eyes were burning with unshed tears at the mention of her father; she wasn't the only one. Deeks was staring at her with the watch in his hand in awe, also tearing up.

"This means a lot to me that you have it, Deeks," she continued. "And I don't think my father could have argued with the kind of man it was passed onto."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pressed a firm kiss into her forehead. "Thank you, Kensi."

"I love you, Deeks."

"I love you too."

His voice broke at the ending of his sentence, filled with emotion. They both had gotten important and symbolic gifts. One as even important as Kensi's beloved father's legacy. But it was the fact that they were wrapped in each other's arms, that truly made it the best Christmas possible.


End file.
